Bill Gates is charismatic in a loud sort of way, physically imposing, and every bit as relentless as his boss. However his enthusiasm to get in and get his hands dirty is his biggest highlight. Bill Gates continues to play a very active role in the workings of the Microsoft Company, but in 1998 he has handed the position of CEO over to Steve Ballmer. He wanted to spend more time guiding development of new products as Microsoft's stronghold and selling operating software for personal computers (Kalish, 1998).

Since the early days of Microsoft, Gates has pursued his vision of “a computer on every desk and in every home, running Microsoft software”. Looking back now, the spread of personal computers from the office into the home seems almost to be expected.

With this vision as a guide Bill Gates managed to persuade most manufacturers to exclusively use his operating software to control their computers. And they have been doing so ever since.
"Microsoft does, in fact, have a monopoly position in the software that controls most computers," says Cathryn Baskin, editor in chief of PC World magazine.

What Gates realized very early on was in order for his vision to succeed, it was essential that an industry standard be created. He knew that whoever got there first would have a major opportunity to stamp their own authority on the computing industry.

In the early days of Bill Gates he had a particular task related personality trait for the passion of computers and his work. Passion for work is especially evident in entrepreneurial leaders and small business owners who are preoccupied with growing their businesses (Dubrin, et al. 2006, p. 35).Bill Gates spent a lot of time creating and testing computer language for PCs, he was with his computer until the early hours of the morning everyday and determined to get the product completed and released into the market.

Bill Gates has a directive and participative leadership style and specifies what needs to be done to achieve productivity and morale in a given situation. A path goal leader such as Bill Gates attempts to clarify the path to a goal for a group member so that he or she receives personal payoffs.

The leader who is directive emphasises on formal activities such as planning, organising, and controlling. When a task is unclear, the directive style leader improves morale (Dubrin, et al. 2006, p. 183).

One key element Bill Gates has is the ability to spread himself around. While the technological strategies are the most important part of the organisation, Bill Gates and his managers break them down into concise business goals that can be handled by small, independent ''business units'' of programmers and marketers. The groups are small enough so that Gates can sit around a table to chat with key members and inject his ideas personally. While he would prefer not to be bothered with operational details, he is quick to identify both organisational weaknesses and the management talent required to repair them (Schlender, 1990).

The leader who is participative consults with group members to gather there suggestion, and then takes these suggestions seriously when making a decision (Dubrin, et al. 2006, p. 183). This style is best suited for improving the morale of well motivated employees who perform no repetitive tasks.

Bill Gates loves to join Microsoft programmers in the brainstorming sessions that give birth to new products. ''It's very important to me and to the guys that work for us that Microsoft feel like a small company, even though it isn't one anymore,'' says Gates (Schlender, 1990).