Essay on Tim Cook's Leadership Qualities

Tim Cook is the current CEO of Apple. He has served the big tech company for six years. Before being named CEO in August 2011, Cook was the companys Chief Operating Officer. Cooks leadership style has enabled him to successfully run the company and deliver resounding profits on a yearly basis. At the helm of Apple Company, Cook places collaboration as his key leadership quality. In an interview at the Duke Fuqua School of Business, Tim emphasized his great value for collaboration with people who are smart, appreciate different points of view, are autonomous, and hardworking (Yarow, 2013). A year into his CEO Job, Cook made executive management changes with the aim of encouraging more collaboration between the Companys hardware, software, and services teams. He believes that collaboration teams foster innovation (Cotton, 2012).

Another vital leadership quality of Apples CEO is transparency. In a time when Apple was receiving massive criticism about the standards of their global employees, Cook revealed to the world how the Company operates. Through such openness, he fostered companys goodwill and established new industry standards for other corporate giants (Markowitz, 2012). Through transparency, problems are solved faster, and teams are also built easier. Cook is also a firm believer in diversity in leadership. He firmly believes that a more diverse employee background can help generate more revenue for the Company. Specifically, he believes that diversity fosters diversity of thought and style, which spur creativity and innovation (Markowitz, 2012).

Another key leadership attribute of Cook is humility. He has repeatedly depicted his humility through words and deeds. In an interview at the Duke Fuqua School of Business, he explained that he is willing to work with everybody, especially with individuals who are not political, who are not bureaucrats, and those who can privately celebrate the achievement (Yarow, 2013). Cook has also demonstrated responsible leadership since his appointment as Apples CEO. The hallmark of his responsible leadership was manifested when he took ownership of errors made by the Company in 2012. Specifically, at the height of the Apple iOS 6 Maps fiasco, Cook signed a public apology over hitches in the maps software when Scott Forstall failed to take responsibility (McGregor, 2012).

Lastly, Cook is a risk-taker. The life of a leader, especially of a big company like Apple, is not an easy one. At some point in their leadership, leaders must make difficult decisions which can directly affect the lives of those around him. Even though such decisions are often difficult to make, effective leaders must trust their ability to take risks. Cook understands that success comes with taking risks. He also knows that risks may sometimes lead to failure but believes that without the possibility of failure there is no possibility of success. (Kopytoff & Streitfeld, 2011).

Why Tim Cook is a Great Leader

I believe that Cook is a great leader. When he took over leadership of Apple, many thought that Apple will never innovate under his leadership and that the company will not be a global technology leader again. This is because many believed he did not match his predecessor, Steve Job, in leadership. Moreover, some felt that Apple will lose its market share. Despite this criticism, Cook never lost focus. He persevered the criticism and weathered the storm. Under his leadership, Apple has achieved new and greater heights. For instance, in April 2015, Apple stocks reached its all-time intraday high of $134.54 per share (Balakrishnan, 2017). Similarly, Apple became the world's first $700 billion company under his leadership (Solomon, 2014). Moreover, more products have been innovated since he was appointed as the CEO. Some of these products include Apple watches, Apple pay system, and Beats by Dre wireless headphones, earphones, and speakers.

References

Balakrishnan, A. (2017). Apple AAPL stock all-time high price. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/13/apple-aapl-stock-all-time-high-price.html

Cotton, K. (2012). Apple announces changes to increase collaboration across hardware, software & services. Retrieved https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2012/10/29Apple-Announces-Changes-to-Increase-Collaboration-Across-Hardware-Software-Services/

Kopytoff, V. G., & Streitfeld, D. (2011). At Apple, Cook has tough act to follow. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/26/technology/at-apple-cook-has-tough-act-to-follow.html

Markowitz, E. (2012). 5 essential leadership lessons from Tim Cook. Retrieved from http://www.inc.com/eric-markowitz/tim-cooks-message-for-ceos-admit-when-youre-wrong.html

McGregor, J. (2012). Tim Cooks humble leadership at Apple. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-leadership/tim-cooks-humble-leadership-at-apple/2012/10/31/4ba5df4e-2370-11e2-8448-81b1ce7d6978_story.html

olomon, J. (2014). Apple now worth a whopping $700 billion. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2014/11/25/investing/apple-700-billion/index.html

Yarow, J. (2013). In one of his most revealing quotes, Tim Cook explains his strategy for running Apple. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/tim-cook-explains-his-strategy-for-running-apple-2013-6