Apple: Tim Cook

“I don’t think business should only deal in commercial things. Business, to me, is nothing more than a collection of people. If people have values, then companies should,” Tim Cook

Recruited by Steve Jobs to lead worldwide operations in 1998, Tim Cook served as interim CEO during Steve Jobs’s leave of absence before becoming CEO in 2011. Many thought that Cook would not be able to fill the shoes of a leader such as Jobs after Jobs made Apple arguably the most successful and powerful consumer-tech company in the world bringing such innovation and leading with a style that experts described as the opposite of a “servant leader”, being sometimes arrogant and being a charismatic leaders at the same time, showing how to use a situational leadership style. So would Tim Cook just try to imitate his mentor or take the completely opposite direction on leading the company is what the world wonder when he took over Apple, and I believe he has chosen to be a more authentic leader, clearly showing many of the components of Authentic Leadership.

Cook decided to focus on existing strengths of the organization and fostering of business as well as employee relationships, leaving aside the approach of “innovation first” that characterized Jobs, being less involved in the details of product engineering and encouraging more consensus building. He can also be described as a charismatic leader as he is a visionary that highlights this style, as he is able to “speak to the hearts of employees, letting them be part of something bigger than themselves. Where others see obstacles or failures, he sees possibility and hope”, as said in the book.

In the article, Apple’s Tim Cook leads different from Fortune, he openly talks about his differences with Steve Jobs, even expressing that he cannot “replicate the Jobs magic—and therefore that Apple never again would be insanely great.” He is definitely not a transformational leader that tries to bring about innovation and change, but the article also explains that in his 3 1/2 years as CEO of Apple, “Cook has come into his own as a high-profile leader of Apple, not merely tolerating the spotlight but leaning into it to focus attention on issues of importance to him and his company.”

He is a new leader with extraordinary ethical values, which it is still hard to find in this modern days. This accentuates his own leadership style and shows the power and influence he has on the company.

Works Cited:

“Apple’s Tim Cook Leads Different.” Fortune, Fortune, fortune.com/2015/03/26/tim-cook/.

Investopedia. “What Is Tim Cook’s Managerial Style?” Investopedia, Investopedia, 9 Oct. 2018, http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/032515/what-tim-cooks-managerial-style.asp.

“The History of Apple CEOs.” InsideView Blog, 28 Mar. 2014, blog.insideview.com/2011/08/25/the-history-of-apple-ceos/.