What started as a conversation about software development and technology quickly turned into one of the most powerful leadership lessons of his life. — Wikimedia Commons
In 1994, Steve Jobs gave a revealing interview to Rolling Stone after he was ousted from Apple and before returning to lead the iPhone and iPad revolution.
What started as a conversation about software development and technology quickly turned into one of the most powerful leadership lessons of his life.
When the interviewer asked if he still had as much faith in technology as he did 20 years earlier, Jobs replied:
"Technology is nothing. What’s important is that you have a faith in people, that they’re basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them."
“Have a faith in people.”
Five simple words. That’s the lesson. Jobs flipped the question from technology to humanity. In doing so, he articulated a timeless leadership principle: Faith means trusting your people first.
As Jobs matured as a leader, he didn’t just believe in technology’s power. He believed in people’s potential to use the technology. He knew that when you start with trust, collaboration and innovation follow.
Trust, in this sense, isn’t something to be earned first. It’s a gift leaders give before it’s proved. Author and trust expert Stephen M.R. Covey puts it best in The Speed of Trust: Teams with high trust move faster and produce better results at lower cost. Conventional thinking says people must earn trust. Jobs, and many great leaders today, saw it differently. Trust comes first.
Jobs’s approach to leadership was rooted in the belief that employees are good and smart, capable of doing great work when given the right tools and freedom. Here’s what happens when leaders follow that path:
1. People feel safe
When leaders operate from trust, they create psychological safety. Employees feel free to contribute ideas, take risks, and innovate without fear of backlash.
2. People take ownership
Jobs’s trust in his engineers started before they even walked through Apple’s doors. His hiring philosophy was clear; as he once put it:
It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.
That level of autonomy builds accountability and pride in the work.
3. People feel respected
Trust signals respect. When leaders trust employees’ judgment to make their own decisions, it fosters mutual respect and loyalty. That’s what makes up a strong work culture.
4. People understand the “why”
Jobs knew clarity of vision matters more than micromanagement. Here was his take on the important of a shared vision:
Once they know what to do, they’ll go figure out how to do it. What they need is a common vision. And that’s what leadership is: having a vision; being able to articulate that so the people around you can understand it; and getting a consensus on a common vision.
5. People solve problems quickly
Trusting employees to act empowers them to handle issues without waiting for approval. This speeds up decision-making and improves both customer and employee experience.
The return on trust
When leaders start with trust, they unlock people’s best work from the neck up. It’s a competitive advantage. A team that feels trusted works faster, innovates more, and costs less to manage. In Jobs’s case, this trust was the foundation for creating products the world can’t live without today.
Jobs’s leadership lesson starts with having faith in people. Give them the vision, tools, and freedom to do what they do best and you’ll build a culture of trust, collaboration, and innovation. That’s a great recipe for profitable business outcomes. – Inc./Tribune News Service
