Consultancy Report Assessment Answer

Introduction

It is no doubt that leadership is deemed the focal point of companies around the globe. It is indicated as the process of functions and actions, innovation, and the response of body, soul, and mindset. In respect of the corporate setting, leadership is considered as the competency of the manager to induce the subordinates for working with inspiration and confidence. The leadership usually stipulates the strength of inspiring the behavior of individuals and it further elucidates the capability to impact any group into the attainment of a specific goal. It mainly plays a massive role to increase the workforce morale. It is considered an interpersonal process wherein the management has the motive to inspire and direct the workforce to the realization of an objective (Manzoor et al. 2019). Apple Inc. is a technology organization in the USA which is founded by Steve Jobs. The main offerings of Apple Company entail desktops, laptops, computing devices, smart pads, smartphones, TV, and so more. Notably, within the momentous consequences of great success in the IT (information technology) industry, leadership at Apple Inc. can be a significantly vital component of organizational management (Kim 2020). This consultancy report is going to discuss the leadership within Apple Inc. by discussing the culture they are attempting to create. Moreover, it will encompass how the company has adjusted to fulfill the changing market environment. Besides, it will discuss how the company’s leadership has dealt with complex issues in the past. Additionally, it will reflect on the learnings from the company’s leadership and how I will integrate the same into my own style of leadership.

Leadership within Apple Inc. and Culture

The leadership style followed by managers of Apple Inc. is considered innovative and instrumental which means that the leader needs to be instrumental to certify that the workforce actually behaves in a way consistent with the novel objectives. The leaders in this company practice a transformational leadership style following Steve Jobs’ style when the company shifts from old technology to modern ones (Zaman et al. 2020). Transformational leadership acts to adapt the system by streamlining to workers the problems in the current system and a compelling vision of what a novel structure of the company must be (Siangchokyoo et al. 2020). It is found that the Apple Company with this leadership style perceived improved performance emanating from the development of know-how, abilities, and competencies of workers and a change in thinking procedures and outlooks (Baqutayan et al. 2018). The CEO of the Apple Company has been termed as a compassionate leader towards individuals due to which he adopted a democratic leadership style. It can be said that corporate leaders who adopt this style of leadership are more productive, and inspirational in their careers as they diligently listen to the workforce and clients. It is asserted that Tim Cook (CEO of Apple Inc.), through his democratic leadership style, emphasizes the significance of having a constructive relationship with the business workers, so that the workforces feel inspired and appreciated. The culture that is being created by a company with such leadership practices is employee-centric and open. The leaders in this company ensure to listen to the workforce’s issues and bring forth methods to certify that the business addresses their welfare. Such a factor impacts workers at Apple to be compassionate about solving the problems of other individuals (Allal-Chérif et al. 2021). The leaders at Apple Inc. are also passionate about the low-income and mid-income earners which compels the company to make price-friendly goods and promote affordability. The ability of leaders at Apple to trust other individuals has momentously led to the success of the company’s CEO and influential status. With the democratic leadership style, Cook believes in having a team of robust and well-skilled higher executives in the company who assist in decision-making processes and also divide the workload that the majority of individuals would perform alone when they were in the position of Tim Cook. Nevertheless, the CEO also permits his top executives to play the role of a leader since he comprehends that they possess extensive experience, are imaginative and have brilliant ideals as well. The leadership style of Tim Cook has enabled him to encourage the workforce at Apple to bring the best out of them by urging them to think strategically and critically. The leaders at Apple constantly insist on having individuals who possess a diversity of ideas and thoughts since they might have the capability to provide varied insights (Podolny and Hansen 2020).

Apple’s Adaptation to Changing Market

It is noteworthy that by promptly adjusting to the novel demands of the market and offering products that satisfy the purchase decisions of its clients, Apple Company has set itself ahead. In view of the changing market environment such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the Apple Company has been able to adapt to the changing situations with its ideal leadership practices (Elali 2021). At the time of the pandemic, the CEO of Apple Company led its business to adapt to the situation like by establishing methods via which workforces would work from virtual settings to adhere to Covid-19 precautionary measures. It can be said that adapting to novel situations actively has made Tim Cook an influential and successful CEO. This has resulted in the company embracing sustainability in making its offerings. With its visionary leadership, robust organizational culture, and innovation, Apple is capable to adapt to the changing nature of the market (Lee 2022). In view of constantly advancing digital technologies, the Apple Company has been successful in offering groundbreaking innovations by following its visionary leadership behaviors. There is no doubt that such leaders possess a definite view of the forthcoming mindset, and then come up with massive ideas about where the company might go, and how it can flourish. With this leadership practice, the leaders at Apple are able to develop a compelling vision by converting predicted disruption into a novel prospect. Besides, this leadership has enabled Apple Inc. to make a direct association between innovation and people. The CEO of this company is a visionary driving factor behind the success of Apple Company at the time of changing market nature (Aleong and TÜRKTARHAN 2022). The company has adopted an engaging and sustainable culture during market changes which reinforces the commitments and talents of individuals around the company. Also, the company has been able to maintain its leadership positions in view of digital transformations in the market by refining its business model and its devices. The company’s leaders proactively consider for methods to refine innovative systems to harness creativity in its workforce, drive novel notions, simplify the designing procedure, and launch effective and fruitful innovations (Cennamo et al. 2020). Under the CEO’s leadership, Apple Company introduced a whole new line of businesses by predicting where the market was heading. In response to the changing technological environment and its trends, Apple leaders should endure establishing technical offerings in evolving areas such as self-driving cars, and AR (augmented reality) to keep up the speed of revenues in this division (Vagadia and Vagadia 2020).

The Leadership of Apple and Complex Problems in the Past

There is no doubt that the Apple Company’s way of managing has contributed to significant innovation and achievements over the past times. It is true that the work to head a massive company like Apple is a complex task. However, Apple’s leaders always possess the capability to think tactically and strategically for them to make superior judgments on intricate matters which the business deals with routinely. In the complex times of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Apple CEO, with his leadership qualities, has led the company to partner with Google on the Covid contact tracing practice which would direct more individuals to use Apple and Google offerings and assist in managing the pandemic (Riemer et al. 2020). To deal with the issue of working mode during the pandemic, the leaders at Apple dealt with this strategically by promoting a hybrid environment wherein remote and on-premise workers work collectively. The CEO of the company perceives that the in-person existence of workers is essential at the workplace to nurture company culture and establish pertinent skill sets (Trevor and Holweg 2022). The issue of conflicts at Apple Inc. is better dealt with by its leaders using active listening skills. It can be said that effective active listeners usually leave a constructive impression since they reflect the actual interest and reliable engagement. The Apple leaders, being active listeners, are able not to rush individuals and take time to comprehend by asking expressive questions. Moreover, Apple’s leaders perceive that active listening is a vital area for each interaction not only for one-to-one meetings (Cardon et al. 2019). In view of dealing with the toxic environment and culture at Apple, the company’s leaders have encouraged a moderate level of competition among teams to stimulate development and refined consequences. The leaders in this company have declined the internal competition in view of bringing more teamwork and cooperation. Such a balanced amount of competition enables workforces to challenge their restrictions without causing a toxic workplace setting. The workforce in all the teams is inspired to think out of the box to develop the ideal possible manners, not the ideal practices. To deal with the issue of a lack of motivated employees, the Apple Company has done enormous efforts in uniting workers around a robust vision and mission and keeping them connected to the company’s goals. The leader at Apple ensures not to undervalue any individual and remains aligned with the workforce's sentiments. Moreover, they have introduced novel channels of communication for the workforce to get information and proactively converse with each other. Moreover, they put tremendous focus on team and cultural fit, and synchronization with the vision and mission of prospective novel hires than on other features. Also, they design strategies to constantly train and develop workforces at Apple so that they remain motivated all the time (Mansaray 2019).

Learning from Apple’s Leadership and Integrate into Own Leadership Style

From Apple’s leadership, it is learned that trust is a vital component of the company’s leadership. It implies that corporate leaders who possess the competency to trust others make effective and influential leaders. Moreover, it is learned that corporate leaders require to comprehend that they can’t do everything for their organization and must enable more individuals to take a proactive role to develop notions and provide suggestions about the leadership of the company. In my own leadership style, I will integrate this learning by allowing my topmost managers to assist in numerous leadership decisions that offer the organization a chance to establish diverse notions of service delivery and product development (Maximo et al. 2019). From Tim Cook’s leadership style, I learned that inspirational and successful corporate leaders stimulate cooperation and teamwork amongst the workers that enable communication between the workers and the higher management by nurturing an environment of mutual support. Moreover, I learned how to react to changing marketplace environments with a robust leadership style and by being strategic. I understood that self-awareness is a vital component during the changing market environments (Khan and Wajidi 2019). I will integrate self-awareness into my leadership style by understanding how others perceive me anbd can adjust their approach at that moment. With this, I will be able to moderate my actions to develop robust relations and attain superior outcomes. I would like to integrate a transformational leadership style into my own leadership behavior. To do so, I will start acquiring skills and competencies to change the environment, stimulation, trends, and perceived workplace values of subordinates so I am better capable to refine performance to attain corporate goals (Brinkmann et al. 2021). From his democratic leadership style, it is learned that such leaders comprehend the value of teamwork. Being a democratic leader, I will provide team-development prospects for my team members to cooperate and take leadership roles in their groups. I will also offer individuals adequate time to exchange their notions, establish a plan, and then vote on the ideal means to go ahead. I learned that there is a sufficient number of people engaged in a team led by a democratic leader. Hence, I will integrate this style by setting deadlines which can assist in ensuring that I attain each one’s input in time to utilize it. Also, I will set expectations upfront which makes it clear when the team’s input will be seen and which choices will be made by management (Nordin et al. 2020).

Recommendations

The following are recommendations for Apple Inc. to improve its leadership practices to further refine its culture.

1. In an attempt for company leaders at Apple Inc. to stimulate its workers to go ahead with the contracted obligation of their functions, it is recommended that expressing gratitude must be part of their leadership. It can be said that thankfully admitting the opinions and attempts of the individuals reflect that they matter, and it can further develop a culture around gratitude (Sun et al. 2019).
2. With respect to developing the team, the leaders at Apple Inc. are needed to train and develop the team members. It is true that training is associated with the definite know-how, abilities, and competencies which the team associates require to do effectually in their present roles. Besides, development is emphasized on the individual’s strength for growth and their forthcoming aspiration. It is suggested to company leaders to engage the team members and assist in retaining them in the team. Moreover, leaders are needed to develop a cycle of constant development discussions with the team associates, discuss their necessities, offer constructive feedback, and developing a plan, and follow up (Chanana 2021).

Conclusion

From the above, it can be concluded that the leaders (CEO and higher management) at Apple Inc. possess the leadership qualities of a democratic leader, transformational leader, and strategic leader. It is further concluded that these leadership behaviors led to improved performance emanating from the development of know-how, abilities, and competencies of workers and a change in thinking procedures and outlooks. Moreover, it concludes that with its visionary leadership, robust organizational culture, and innovation, Apple is capable to adapt to the changing nature of the market. Moreover, this style of leadership helped the company to deal with the future changes in the market by helping its leaders to predict for future. It is also inferred that self-awareness is an important component of leadership behaviors since this quality can enable an individual to become aware of the changing nature of the market and any challenges facing the company. The challenges can then easily be handled with the self-awareness ability of leaders. It also concludes that teamwork should be considered by the leaders to integrate democratic and transformational leadership styles.

References

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Allal-Chérif, O., Guijarro-García, M., Ballester-Miquel, J.C. and Carrilero-Castillo, A., 2021. Being an ethical leader during the apocalypse: Lessons from the walking dead to face the COVID-19 crisis. Journal of Business Research , 133 , pp.354-364.

Baqutayan, S.M., Jamaluddin, N., Omar, H., Parvez, D.H. and Baru, P.A., 2018. Leadership framework intensifies innovation culture in an organization. Journal of Advanced Research in Social and Behavioural Sciences , 10 (1), pp.33-49.

Brinkmann, J.L., Cash, C. and Price, T., 2021. Crisis leadership and coaching: a tool for building school leaders' self-efficacy through self-awareness and reflection. International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education .

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Cennamo, C., Dagnino, G.B., Di Minin, A. and Lanzolla, G., 2020. Managing digital transformation: Scope of transformation and modalities of value co-generation and delivery. California Management Review , 62 (4), pp.5-16.

Chanana, N., 2021. Employee engagement practices during COVID‐19 lockdown. Journal of public affairs , 21 (4), p.e2508.

Elali, W., 2021. The importance of strategic agility to business survival during corona crisis and beyond. International Journal of Business Ethics and Governance , 4 (2), pp.1-8.

Khan, M.R. and Wajidi, A., 2019. Role of leadership and team building in employee motivation at workplace. GMJACS , 9 (1), pp.11-11.

Kim, H., 2020. Comparison of Strategic Leadership: Steve Jobs and Tim Cook. Business and Management Studies , 6 (3), pp.17-25.

Lee, K.H., 2022. Managing Supply Chain Resilience for Sustainability in an Uncertain World: Challenges and Solutions. In Supply Chain Resilience: Insights from Theory and Practice (pp. 139-147). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Mansaray, H.E., 2019. The role of leadership style in organisational change management: a literature review. Journal of Human Resource Management , 7 (1), pp.18-31.

Manzoor, F., Wei, L., Nurunnabi, M., Subhan, Q.A., Shah, S.I.A. and Fallatah, S., 2019. The impact of transformational leadership on job performance and CSR as mediator in SMEs. Sustainability , 11 (2), p.436.

Maximo, N., Stander, M.W. and Coxen, L., 2019. Authentic leadership and work engagement: The indirect effects of psychological safety and trust in supervisors. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology , 45 (1), pp.1-11.

Nordin, M.N.B., Mustafa, M.Z.B. and Razzaq, A.R.B.A., 2020. Headmaster Leadership Effect On Task Load Of Special Education Integration Program Teacher. Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews , 8 (2), pp.451-456.

Podolny, J.M. and Hansen, M.T., 2020. How Apple is organized for innovation. Harvard Business Review , 98 (6), pp.86-95.

Riemer, K., Ciriello, R., Peter, S. and Schlagwein, D., 2020. Digital contact-tracing adoption in the COVID-19 pandemic: IT governance for collective action at the societal level. European Journal of Information Systems , 29 (6), pp.731-745.

Siangchokyoo, N., Klinger, R.L. and Campion, E.D., 2020. Follower transformation as the linchpin of transformational leadership theory: A systematic review and future research agenda. The Leadership Quarterly , 31 (1), p.101341.

Sun, J., Liden, R.C. and Ouyang, L., 2019. Are servant leaders appreciated? An investigation of how relational attributions influence employee feelings of gratitude and prosocial behaviors. Journal of Organizational Behavior , 40 (5), pp.528-540.

Trevor, J. and Holweg, M., 2022. Managing the New Tensions of Hybrid Work. MIT Sloan Management Review , 64 (2).

Vagadia, B. and Vagadia, B., 2020. Disruptive Data Applications. Digital Disruption: Implications and opportunities for Economies, Society, Policy Makers and Business Leaders , pp.229-259.

Zaman, U., Nawaz, S. and Nadeem, R.D., 2020. Navigating innovation success through projects. Role of CEO transformational leadership, project management best practices, and project management technology quotient. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity , 6 (4), p.168.

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