What Is Tim Cook's Managerial Style?

Apple CEO Tim Cook has a managerial style could be broadly defined as

democratic. Rather than standing in complete contrast to former Apple
CEO Steve Jobs, Cook appears to have adopted some of the
legendary entrepreneur's existing practices and developed a uniquely blended
leadership mantra.

Tim Cook's Strengths

Many were concerned that Cook lacked the bold visionary style of Jobs, but
he has strengths of his own. He's often described as charismatic and
thoughtful by Apple employees. So far, his tenure has been characterized by a
greater focus on existing products and fostering of business as well as
employee relationships.

Instead of simply continuing the legacy of Jobs' autocratic leadership style,

Cook has played to his strengths and placed emphasis on advancing
cooperation among Apple's arsenal of talent. This is extremely indicative of
the democratic style of management, which encourages consensus building,
particularly among high-level employees prior to mutually consented decision
making.

Tim Cook encourages consensus building among high-level employees.

The role of hands-on participation of the CEO in developing Apple products
has been significantly reduced since Cook took over in 2011. The iWatch is an
example of this shift in structure as Cook chose to be less involved in the
details of product engineering. Instead, he delegated those duties to members
of his executive cabinet. His notably subtle style of leadership has enhanced
industry and employee goodwill. When compared to Jobs' brusque and often
dictatorial manner, Cook's style has also resulted in slower decision-making
and a clear loss of innovative drive.

However, mild-mannered Tim Cook is capable of inspiring the best work in

team members. Harvard Business Review has classified Tim Cook as a
“multiplier,” a leader who can actually make employees smarter, more
innovative, and more competent via his leadership style.

How Employees Describe Tim Cook as a Manager

Employees have described how Cook uses constant questioning to keep
employees sharp. Greg Joswiak, vice president of product marketing at Apple,
tells Cook biographer Leander Kahney, “He’s just very calm, steady, but will
slice you up with questions. You better know your stuff.”

Tim Cook's style motivates employees and inspires innovation.

Kahney writes that this technique is effective at keeping employees motivated
and inspiring innovation. This technique helps Cook get the best out of his
employees by ensuring that they adequately understand the problems the
company is facing and that they’re keeping their knowledge up-to-date. Cook’s
gentle interrogations empower other leaders within the organization to find
and implement their own solutions because they never know when Cook will
drop by with a round of questioning—and they know that if they don’t have an
answer to a question, future interrogations will be longer.

Shift From 'Innovation First'

In a blatant shift from Jobs' "innovation first" approach, Cook asserts that one
"can only do a few things great." However, Tim Cook can make tough
decisions. Ultimately, his focus on existing strengths of the organization, the
importance given to accord between senior executives and lack of
micromanagement clearly indicates a democratic managerial style.