Strategic Leadership and Defining Greatness: Apple Inc.

Apple Inc. is one of the largest and most influential technology companies in the world, leading in the design, manufacturing and marketing of consumer electronics, software applications and digital services. Apple is a multinational consumer technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California that designs, manufactures and markets consumer electronics, software applications and digital services. The company was founded on April 1, 1976. The company’s current CEO is Tim Cook, who succeeded former CEO and co-founder of the company Steve Jobs who was the chief executive of Apple for 14 years, from 1997 until he stepped down in August 2011. Tim Cook has been noted for being an operations-oriented chief executive whose leadership style is characterized by focus, teamwork, ethics and a long term perspective. During Cook’s tenure, Apple has broadened its services business, streamlined its global supply chains and has sustained a successful business in an increasingly competitive worldwide market.

By Tim Cook Apple leader Apple’s leader, Tim Cook, applies nearly all of the characteristics that are recommended by the modern leadership theories, such as transformational leadership, or even strategic leadership by using the mission–strategy–logistics (MSL) model. The firm’s mission is connected by many signals to various aspects which are managed by Tim Cook. These include both the technological leadership which is innovation, privacy and user experience, as well as the operational systems of the firm. Anderson (2019) points out that it is the task of leaders to create alignment within the organizational systems, which then turns the firm’s vision into tangible performance. Tim Cook is implementing a very similar approach as Apple is investing strongly in research and development, in sustainability and in the different integration channels within the ecosystem.

Leadership theory Transformational leadership theory is also evident in the practice of leadership within Apple. Transformational leaders motivate or inspire their followers by offering a compelling vision, inspiring creativity, and gaining commitment to their mission or objectives. Work with Kouzes and Posner in their book ‘Discovery Team Leadership’ explain some of the practices used by transformational leaders, which include “inspiring a shared vision” and “enabling others to act”. Apple’s leadership style in fact reflects each of these practices. Leadership of Apple by Cook especially illustrates the need for collaboration across business functions to involve and empower employees to play an active role in research and development and in the improvement of productivity. In other words, while leading from the front and increasing the financial reward of employees may produce very positive results it is not the only motivation for the leading organisation. Apple as a business creates leading technology for society as a whole.

As mentioned in the previous post another factor influencing firm performance is through the use of inspirational methods of ethical leadership and value-based decision making. Apple presents itself as a champion of privacy and the environment, sending strong signals to customers and stakeholders regarding its priorities and values. Hughes et al. ( 2014) assert that for strategic leaders “actions always have to be consistent with the organisation’s values if the firm is to sustain its image over time and stand the test of time” One of the most public declarations of values by Cook to-date has been privacy and supply chain accountability and adhering to ethical standards in these areas has contributed significantly to Apple’s leadership brand and to the engagement of its employees.

The leadership style and its relation to the key performance indicators (KPIs) of an organization provides an understanding of Apple’s perception towards greatness. While Apple’s financials (revenue, profit, market capitalisation) are always at a very high level, the company’s understanding towards greatness is multifaceted and extends beyond the numbers. Apple’s greatness is multifaceted and incorporates innovation, customer satisfaction, brand reputation and operational efficiency. As Collins (2001) states that a great organisation will have purpose, leadership and execution all in place in a highly disciplined fashion. Apple can always deliver the highest quality products to customers while keeping the company’s financials and cultural performance at its best.

In the Apple parking structure the company lists several quantitative and qualitative factors under the heading “How Great We Are.” Quantitative factors listed include revenue growth rate, market share, and return on sales. Qualitative factors listed include customer satisfaction, the standing of the Apple brand, and the level of employee satisfaction. When looking at the model it is clear that the metrics are considered by the Strategic Leader when trying to measure the overall performance of the company balancing short term and long term goals while trying to merge innovative concepts with efficient and cost-effective operations.

Leadership in Practice The Apple Inc case illustrates how leadership can align vision, mission and actions to achieve success. The leadership approach of Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, is an exemplar of blending transformational and strategic leadership styles to motivate and inspire employees to achieve corporate goals and objectives. Great organisations are characterised by high performance in terms of financial, innovation and cultural criteria, which are achieved by leaders who not only align action and values with their vision, but also empower others to act in their best interests while adhering to ethical standards. For organisations to sustain their performance, there must be constant integration of the leader’s vision with the structures and performance metrics of the organisation.

What specific leadership behaviors most effectively sustain innovation and cultural alignment within large organizations operating at a global scale?

## **References (APA 7)**

Anderson, D. L. (2019). Organization development: The process of leading organizational change (5th ed.). SAGE Publications. [Beecher]

- Collins, J. (2001). * Good to great: Why some companies make the leap and others don’t*. Harper Business.

Hughes, R. L., Beatty, K. C., & Dinwoodie, D. L. (2014). * Becoming a strategic leader: Your role in your organization’s enduring success* (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass. (ISBN: 0479234397)

Five Practices for Facilitating Change  A Facilitator’s Guide for Learning in Organizations  50 Models for Eliciting Feedback  Training E-Reviews  The Five Conditions  The Five Practices - Leadership & Building Strong Organizations  Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2017). The leadership challenge (6th ed.). Wiley.

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