Speaking of Steve Jobs' leadership, Lisa Melton wrote a nice post of her memories of working at Apple with him: ‘Memories of Steve’
Steve expected excellence. Which is why he so often got it.
He knew when something was right, but he didn’t always tell you what he wanted when it wasn’t. And he was very clear when he didn’t like it. Some misinterpreted this behavior as being overly critical, but it was actually time-saving clarity, albeit uncomfortable on occasion.
My high school band director was the same way. We had no business performing at the level that he expected out of us. But it was from him that I learned people will rise to the expectations you set. And the ones who won’t, you might not have wanted on your team anyway.