Four Business Leaders in the 21st Century

When you think of the word leader, it probably brings to mind a lot of very specific thoughts. You might think of someone who’s well-dressed and speaks authoritatively and confidently. You might picture a man or woman agonizing over difficult decisions, listening intently to employee challenges, arriving early to work and leaving late.

Or, you might envision someone quiet. Someone who stays out of the way. A genius who assembles systems and processes and lets employees handle themselves.

You’re not wrong, in either case. There is no single, unique definition for the word, because there’s no single method for great leadership. It all depends on the strengths, weaknesses and personality of an individual leader, and as you’re honing your own style of leadership, it’s wise to keep an eye out for techniques and perspectives that fit you and your sensibilities.

Here are a few notable examples in the leadership world right now.

Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO of Amazon.com

Bezos is number one on Fortune’s World’s Greatest Leaders list. How did he get there?

Consistency. Bezos has built his empire on creating a quality customer experience, and he has been unwavering in that foundational principle. It starts and ends with the customer. And, like many leaders, Bezos casts his vision forward. He’s interested in progress, and it makes little difference to him if his company struggles in any particular quarter, so long as the business is trending in the right direction for the long term.

Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos

“Constant growth and change,” Hsieh said to the Washington Post last year. “That’s the type of environment that I thrive in. That’s what a lot of entrepreneurs look for as well.”

Hsieh isn’t comfortable being called a leader. He doesn’t view himself as a CEO. He considers himself a facilitator of success. He wants to give the people around him the support they need to excel. It’s all about providing an environment for employees to pursue their passions and be creative. All he does is give them a platform for innovation and then step out of their way.

Howard Schultz, Chairman and CEO of Starbucks

Schultz leads with enthusiasm.

Starbucks is known for their coffee, but Shultz thinks it’s the passion – not the caffeine – that keeps his organization successful. He wants to connect with his employees. He wants to give them an environment that rewards them for their efforts. Despite the thousands of numbers, figures and key performance indicators that most CEOs are subjected to every quarter, Shultz maintains a rare talent – after all his time leading Starbucks, he still sees his employees as people instead of business entities.

Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo

Nooyi has been the head of PepsiCo for a decade, and she is perpetually ranked among the top of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in Business. She’s a well-rounded leader, but she stands apart because of her ability to build relationships and make commitments to the people around her.

She maintains a blog in which she offers her thoughts and insights to her employees, which is a level of communication already unusual for leaders in her position, but her outreach goes beyond that. She’s been known to write letters to parents of employees commending them for the work their children are doing.

She understands that there is much, much more to her company than the four walls of her office and her email inbox.

“Look, this is my company,” she told CNN Money back in 2014. “This is my living, my livelihood. And 300,000 people in PepsiCo depend on PepsiCo for their life and their livelihoods.”

Styles may vary from leader to leader, but the best ones all have something in common. No matter their approach or technique, they make positive differences in the lives of the people around them.