Nadella's 'calming' style starkly different from 'passionate' Ballmer's

If former Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer's leadership style was blustery and passionate, the new CEO Satya Nadella's way of heading the multi-billion company is a stark contrast.

Once all the paparazzi surrounding an Indian-origin cloud chief making it to the top job cooled a bit, Nadella's calming and collegial style was revealed.

According to news.com.au, when the webcast, soon after Nadella was named the new boss, was over, he didn't want to hog the limelight and asked the town hall attendees to get back to their meeting if it was more interesting or important.

A professor at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business in Seattle, Suresh Kotha, said that it was a symbolic gesture, which sends a very strong message, that work is important and is a necessary cultural shift for a mature company getting into new businesses.

Richard Metheny, a management coach for executive search firm Witt/Kieffer, echoed similar take, saying that Nadella will have the ability to get Microsoft to loosen up a little and focus on innovation rather than be accused of bringing in a solution that brings in money immediately.

The report said that former boss Ballmer is better known for his larger-than-life displays of emotion, his farewell high-fives and hugs and slamming Google's Android mobile OS as 'wild' and 'uncontrolled.'

However, at a financial analysts meeting in September, Ballmer's successor, Nadella, described how Microsoft's mobile device management software has to handle devices that run on Apple's iOS, Google's Android and Microsoft's Windows equally, the report added.