Tim Cook will step down as Apple’s CEO on Sept. 1 after 15 years leading one of the most valuable companies in the world. There’ll be no shortage of retrospectives about his operational genius, his supply chain mastery, and his steady stewardship through the post-Jobs era.
But there’s one thing I keep coming back to: Cook is one of the best listeners I’ve ever encountered.
As a CEO coach and the author of “Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity,” I know that in a world where leaders are increasingly rewarded for being loud, confident, and quick, his approach is worth studying.
Jony Ive, Apple’s former chief design officer, once said at a class at Apple University, where I was a faculty member, that a manager’s most important role is to “give the quiet ones a voice.” I love this. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt took the opposite approach, urging people to “Be loud!” I love this, too. The two leaders took different approaches to listen and ensure that everyone was heard.
Great leaders find a way to listen that fits their personal style, and then create a culture where everyone listens to each other. Here’s how Cook did it.
