Principles and Practices of Effective Leadership (Apple Inc). Leadership Portfolio - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... Each leader adopts a unique approach and style, through the interplay of one’s traits, intelligence, behavioral set, authority, power, temperament and charisma. Within an institution, there develops an emphasis on implementing leadership skills and abilities that are relevant across the organization. This cultivates the ‘leadership style of the organization’. Let us delve in to an analysis on leadership at Apple Inc. (formerly Apple Computer Inc.), an American multinational corporation that designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, computer hardware, software and personal computers. The powerful visionary, Steve Jobs, was the co-founder of Apple Inc. along with Steve Wozniak. They went on the establish Apple as one of the world’s giants, with an unconventional approach and leadership style that was starkly different from conventional business wisdom. The predominating leadership approach at Apple Inc. was that of ‘Transformational Leadership’, wherein Steve Jobs (the leader), identified the need for change, created a vision amongst his people to enforce the change and finally, ensured its enforcement with the unfailing commitment of the members of his company. (Bryant S., 2012)...
At a review session, Jobs was quick to grab a ‘Magic Marker’ and draw a two-by-two grid on the board, labeling each quadrant sequentially as “Consumer”, “Pro.”, “Desktop” and “Portable”. He insisted that Apple focus on just four great products (one for each quadrant), cancelling all other products. Steve Jobs is known to have said to Walter Isaacson, “Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do. “That’s true for companies, and it’s true for products.” (Issacson, 2012). The Apple Company under Steve Jobs, developed a ‘perfectionist style’ with an eye for great detail. The success of the company lay in the fact that Jobs recognized his own strengths and delegated areas suited to other people’s strengths, so that only the best product emerged from its shores. Steve Jobs was a driven leader and the products and services he directed his company to develop and commercialize changed the way many of us live, as well as the course of a diverse set of industries, including computing, publishing, movies, music and mobile telephony (Katzenbach, 2012). Undoubtedly, the success of Apple Computers under Steve Jobs stemmed from his creativity in decision-making, charismatic leadership and the ability to take risks in order to adapt to changing market conditions. As testimony to Apple’s creativity, Steve Jobs himself famously said “innovation distinguishes a leader and a follower”! Both, situational factors and the leadership approach of Steve Jobs contributed to Apple’s success. By selecting Steve Jobs to lead the company, Apple was not only able to improve its performance, but also position itself to take advantage of the opportunity ...Download file to see next pagesRead More