Focusing attention on the most precise direction it needs to go is the main task of leadership. However, the talent here depends on the capacity for shifting attention to the appropriate place at the perfect time, identifying and adapting to emerging realities and trends while taking advantage of the opportunities (FUTURE FOCUSED LEADERS., 2017). To attain this, the company requires to have focused leaders. In essence, focused leadership focuses on efficiently attracting and directing collective attention. Focused leaders require elements such as: to focus on their own attention, also attract and direct attention out of others and perceiving and keeping the employees’, customers’ and peers’ attention (Goleman, 2013). A focused leader is capable of balancing the inner focus on the culture together with the other attention towards the competitive landscape as well as the outer focus on the wider realities shaping the environment they are operating in. Apple Company is one of the companies that employees focused leaders. Apple believes that its success in their competitive industry has been contributed by having focused leaders. Therefore, this paper will discuss the Apple use of focused leaders in order to improve productivity and also the outcomes of this strategy.
Leadership is the process of when an individual with power influences the attitudes and behaviors of others to pursue the organizational goals. It is important that leaders set the directions to others by helping them see the potential of what’s ahead and encourage and motivate those surrounded by them (Knapp, Copland, Honig, Plecki, & Portin, 2010). There have been debates on whether leaders are made or born, although leaders can be made having the ability to lead is somewhat a trait that a true leader must be born with. There are different styles to understand the approach of leadership such as: the trait approaches, behavioral approaches, situational approaches and transformational approaches and three additional perspectives.
Apple is a reputable company in the telecommunication industry. To achieve its success Apple employs focused leaders. Apple centered on a simple strategy which is the focus. Instead of diverting attention to series of products such as computer peripheral products, twelve distinct types of Macintosh and computers, the company focus on only four products which are; one laptop, one computer for two markets; professional and consumer (“Apple,” n.d.). This strategy was implemented by Apple’s greatest focused leader, Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs noted that producing many different products diverts and distracts attention, therefore, leading to low productivity and low-quality production.
Jobs eliminated things that were irrelevant. As a focused leader, he knew that for him to simplify efficiently you have to apprehend the complexity that is being reduced (“Apple,” n.d.). Apple has been having this decision of simplicity such that its products enable the users to undertake anything in three or fewer clicks thus demanding a clear understanding of the functioning commands and buttons provided and determining other alternatives.
The strategy of focus that Apple has implemented has greatly impacted its production and the quality of products. With its focused leaders, Apple is one of the leading companies worldwide having the big number of customers (“Apple,” n.d.). Motivation from their focused leaders has enabled the company to produce high-quality products that are highly embraced which have gained the company large profits. The focus strategy also enabled Apple to identify its weakness and their points of strengths thus enabling it to improve in its productivity. Apple’s focused leaders have enabled the company to gain a competitive advantage over its top competitors such as Samsung and Blackberry (“Apple,” n.d.). This has been achieving, through the focus strategy whereby the focused leaders have centered on a fresh focus in their production strategies. This has been achieved through the establishment of radical innovative strategy demands identifying a unique position that the other competitor does not see.
Focused leadership is very important to being an effective leader. The focused leadership theory focuses on a strategy that employees who perform well get rewarded and the ones who do not meet the expectations faces the appropriate punishment (Knapp et al., 2010). In focused leadership leaders motivate their employees with bonuses, raises and some promotion to continue working hard. Maintaining a normal flow of operations is what focused leaders are usually more concerned with. Leaders that use this type of style can help build strong reputation for the company and keep employees productive. Leaders can bring their word in reality by acting on the concepts, so providing incentives to promote hard work can be an effective strategy in management because everyone appreciates rewards. As a focused leader, Jobs often presented himself as a powerful and strict leader to his rivals. Jobs’ responsibility for apple was the strategy of the company. In order to maintain the company status, he focuses on creating barriers, and strictly controls the business productions so that apple can be accepted by its consumers.
Apple is one of the companies who have been able to benefit from a focused leader. Steve Jobs was an inspirational and focused leader and former CEO of Apple. Although his qualities considered him as a focused leader, he also used the corrective sanctions of a focused leader for instance penalizing the designer when he fails to meet the expectations (Knapp et al., 2014). Focused leadership causes change among people and provides effects on its supporters with positive outcomes. In order to be a successful focused leader, you must get to know your employee and determine their needs, and how to satisfy them to understand your ways of leading. Steve Jobs was able to do that by instructing Tim Cook, the new CEO of Apple to develop into the effective leadership needed to maintain the growth of Apple.
Leadership is the ability to motivate employees to be willing to engage in the organization goals. Leaders have vision and are able to cope with change. There are many research on the behaviors, physical traits and personality of a leader, and many debates on whether leaders are born or made (Knapp et al., 2010). These can all be true, because different leaders perform using different techniques depending on the situation. Some of the styles used in leadership are trait approaches, behavioral approaches, situation approaches and focused leadership approaches. To be successful, leaders uses one or multiple style of leadership alongside their knowledge and necessary skills. Focused leaders influence groups to make the world a better place and also focused leaders focus on the existing structure of a company and measure its success by rewarding or penalizing its employees. Although focused leadership can cause changes in people, and it focus on team building and motivation towards employee.
To sum up, focused leaders possess systems awareness enabling them to answer and address emerging issues. The success of a company is attributed to the efforts of a focused leader since a focused leader is not only in charge of his or her inner focus but the focus of the entire company. It is therefore important for a company to ensure that they employ focused leaders so as to improve productivity and achieve success.