Although Elon Musk is a one-of-akind CEO, many of the leadership qualities vital to his success can be developed in managers throughout a company. 8th Edition. Elon Musk has always been remembered as a transformational autocratic leader. Authentic leadership has three components to its definition that I believe Elon Musk meets criteria for. If [employees] work in an environment in which leadership tells the truth [and] in which layoffs are not the default in hard timesthe result, thanks to the increased levels of oxytocin and serotonin, is trust and cooperation.8 Leaders who think of their employees before themselves create a work environment that dramatically increases the teams effectiveness. His leadership qualities are helping shape a new way of thinking about sustainable energy and renewable resources. His financial decisions even resulted in him borrowing money to pay rent for a period of time.He has justified his unusual entrepreneurial moves saying, If I ask investors to put money in, then I feel morally I should put money in as well. Or as he has more colourfully puts it. Works on Ground Level. Co-founder, PayPal. . Give the obvious answers, then put your spin on those answers and pursue them with tenacity. This is a BETA experience. In Simon Sineks book Leaders Eat Last, he details a less commonly acknowledged, yet equally important, aspect of leading from the front. How many opportunities are lost because of our fear of asking? Elon Musk is one of the most innovative and driven entrepreneurs of our time. Musk takes a scientific approach to building teams, one that is based upon an understanding of their behavior and talent, and he leads them through action. . Give the obvious answers, then put your spin on those answers and pursue them with tenacity. Here are a few considerations that Musk should pursue to get Tesla back on track. Oprah Winfrey. He may rethink stepping down, or even appoint someone only to sack them. Make sure you understand the fundamental principles of what youre trying to do before you get into the details, otherwise you could be building on faulty ground.. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider Great Resignation Climate Change Leadership Inflation Ukraine Invasion . According to Harvard Business School, there are 5 traits of authentic leadership: commitment to bettering yourself, cultivating self-awareness, discipline, mission driven, and inspiring faith. His secret is that he taps into people's yearning for inspiration. Elon Musk believes that they still can produce great results with the high amount of energy they have and their dynamic leadership. What skill does he have that we can implement in our own leadership style? Working 120-hour weeks doesn't leverage your unique qualities, it wastes them. For example, one recent scholarly study conducted by Andrew Cooper indicates that a learning culture positively impacts organizational performance.3. Adib Ibne Yousuf Follow The way Elon Musk leads his various companies takes the old adage of shooting for the moon so that even if you miss, youll end up among the stars, from sage wisdom to literal direction. Find out why in this fantastic piece (also from Wait But Why). In their book Connected, Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler conclude from years of research that our actions, attitudes, and behaviors not only influence those we act with directly, but also extend to people within three degrees. Copyright 2023 Entrepreneur Media, Inc. All rights reserved. The Harvard Business Review article, Like It or Not, You Are Always Leading by Example explains that all serious leaders recognize that their example has a continuous impact on their company. 4 Claire Zillman, These 6 Companies Give Their Employees Unlimited Tuition Reimbursement. Fortune. And it can be a force for good for example providing data and advice during the COVID-19 pandemic or helping to highlight the failings of politicians or the media even with the unpleasantness and abuse that seem to be an unavoidable part of tweeting. Do you have a strong belief in it? Promoting life-long learning among a companys employees is essential to maintaining its competitive edge. Things could get nasty.". I first became aware of Elon Musk from a tiny blurb in the newspaper. As of 2020, he lives in Los Angeles, California. I'll talk about them here. In consideration of the leadership skills of Jobs and Musk, I see four overlapping things. This leadership style's strengths are innovative thinking, analysis, problem-solving, planning, and strategy execution. Companies looking to gain a competitive edge should invest in their human capital by creating an office culture conducive to developing quality managers. Introduction. While Musks ability to fail may not separate him from his competitors, he differentiates himself with his ability to remain optimistic and wholeheartedly convinced that he will succeed. By any measure, Elon Musk is exceptionally successful. He has a vision of a world that is no longer reliant on fossil fuels, is maximizing their use of green energy, and is exploring space and building colonies on Mars (Jacoby, 2011). His next venture was X.com, an online banking service he started in 1999. PSYCH 485 | Lesson 12: Authentic Leadership https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2137573/modules/items/32271438. Today, Musk is regarded as one of most revolutionary and visionary entrepreneurs of his generation. https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/authentic-leadership, Copyright 2023 The Pennsylvania State University, https://www.biography.com/business-figure/elon-musk, https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2137573/modules/items/32271438, https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/authentic-leadership, A Leaders Self-Defeating Behaviors Effect on the Organization, Leaders Need to Be in Harmony With Their Followers, Nurse Leaders: The Importance of Nurses Motivating Nurses. Whether it was Paypal where he championed the idea of an online banking institution, or SpaceX which has become the first private company to successfully launch a rocket and dock at the International Space Station, or SolarCity which promotes the use of solar energy as a sustainable energy source, Musk is disrupting large industries by setting a new standard. He has used his skills to aid in the design of electric cars and even spaceships. Your email address will not be published. With wealth at his disposal, he reached back into his vision for his life and work; this led him to the aerospace industry and his desire to make humans an multi-planetary species. While Musk's business ventures have been driven by his unique vision, Musk takes very little input and often makes impulse decisions that haven't been vetted by team members. Elon Musk has married thrice and twice to the same woman. We can also absentmindedly rattle off a stream of adjectives that describe him and his leadership qualities: innovator, leader, genius, visionary, futurist, entrepreneur. What's the point of doing that? After arriving in Canada, Musk managed to make his way traveling between distant relatives he had never met, performing odd jobs, and working on local farms. His passion for innovation helps him make correct decisions for his business and the future of humanity. Otherwise, its not.16 For Musk, the only viable option was to hold on firmly to hope. The billionaire talked about his early days in Dallas when he was strapped for cash. Elon Musk joins the ranks of Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos for many when considering the 21st century's most influential CEOs, and like the respective founders of Apple and Amazon, is often cited as having a "transformational leadership" style. Eventually he went on to study at Stanford and began to pursue his technology legacy (Cole, 2021). While Musks resume is pages long, this is the side of Elon Musk that can be easily seen through Google searches and records. With all said and done, most chief executive officers are only after bolstering bottom lines and keeping investors happy. What is your vision? This mightbe a little bit more difficult to do, but I think it's possible. I believe Musk's exceptional ability to healthfully maintain his intensity comes because of his flow state mindset, his passion for his work, and his absolute focus. In encouraging the widespread use of clean energy, Musk wrote, Tesla Motors was created to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport.If we clear a path to the creation of compelling electric vehicles, but then lay intellectual property landmines behind us to inhibit others, we are acting in a manner contrary to that goal. 2.1.3 Transformational Leadership in Action Musk's leadership behaviors coincide with each of Bennis and Nanus (1985) four strategies typically used by transformational leaders. All he focused on was the task at hand. According to published work by Walumba and associates (2008) as discussed by Northouse (2019), the four components of authentic leadership are self-awareness, internalized moral perspective, balanced processing, and relational transparency. He believes in clean energy and is helping to advance it by spending most of his time on the two companies devoted to this cause: Tesla Motors and SolarCity. Many do not have access to the resources needed to bring out their full leadership potential. If being willful, and opinionated, yet adaptable are key traits to great leaders. If we can overcome the initial fear of being told "no" and understand that no truly means nothing, we'll be better for it. As a young man, Musk discovered that he was keenly interested in a few fields that he thought would have an impact on the world: the internet; sustainable energy; space exploration, in particular the permanent extension of life beyond Earth; artificial intelligence; and reprogramming the human genetic code.. Know an entrepreneur that embodies these values? You can't . As he has made, sold and ran a bevy of successful companies, its clear that he utilizes a very specific type of leadership to keep the train of innovation chugging. Here is how we would define a leader with a passion for innovation. In addition to self reflection, gather feedback from your colleagues and team, and use any constructive comments to improve processes, relationships and performance in the office. But can we. Chatham: Newstex, 2015. https://search-proquest-com.erl.lib.byu.edu/docview/1652311317?accountid=4488. He then takes each answer to the question and attempts to flesh it out in the best possible way. Indeed, many prominent advertisers left the site apparently in response to Musks chaotic decision making. As a child, Musk became interested in computer programming and taught himself to code. (2021). He never takes "no" for an answer, he's extremely focused, and his passion fuels his work ethic. Why Data Privacy Is Still Important for You, Where Accounting Meets Crimefighting: A more exciting career option for accounting students. Indeed, Musks reaction to finally getting his hands on Twitter has been reminiscent of Christmas morning, when children rip open presents, display initial excitement and then quickly lose interest. Ever since then, I have kept abreast with great interest the news surrounding this man the media often dubs the real-life Tony Stark. Trait #3: Glass Half Full Mentality. It certainly wouldn't be that way without Musk's unblinking focus at the forefront. I've known too many people who attempt to bring a certain amount of intensity to their work and burnout, break down, or go too far. We live in a highly distracting world. Elon Musk does not have those qualities. [3] It could be a good exercise to think of ways you can distill these traits as usable leadership skills. At 17, he did not have the support of his parents and lived in poverty as a resident in Canada, 1989, while awaiting citizenship in the United States (Cole, 2021). He really gives his all to what he does.This certainly cant be easy considering the failures his companies have faced. We'd, Thanks for all the support! Sometimes, as a leader, you need to step back and say no when things no longer serve your personal and organizational goals. Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates or to get a second opinion on your portfolio. Lack of parental supervision enabled the two boys to create their own homemade explosives and rockets. Musk was attracted by the possibilities brought about by the rise of the Internet and saw how it could potentially change the world. Some of Musk's characteristics are by chance--like being. 3. While there are lots of impressive leaders, few touch his superhero scale. He understands the many challenges but is not afraid to take them on. He is a true visionary who can see the road to the future. Elon Musk is a honest person/executive, the world we live has a great lack of honesty. We can rattle off Elon Musk's accomplishments in our sleep: co-founder of monetary giant PayPal; founder of Tesla Motors, the electric car company that is changing the world; and founder of Space X, which is focused on space exploration and space travel, and has even sent NASA to the International Space Station on his spacecraft. Elon Musk is a South Africa-born inventor and investor. 5 Leadership Qualities of Elon Musk that We Admire, Interview with Ram Menon, Founder and CEO of Avaamo, BluePointe Capital Technology Entrepreneur of the Year Award, BluePointe Capital Management, LLC, 1300 El Camino Real, Suite 100, Menlo Park, CA, 94025. References From a turbulent childhood in South Africa, to the forefront of global entrepreneurship and innovation, Elon Musk is attempting to lead the world to a better tomorrow. He is the co-founder of PayPal, CEO and CTO of SpaceX, and CEO and product architect at Tesla Motors (Cole, 2021). In 2017, Musk resigned from his post with the White House Advisory Council over the United States withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. Now look at Tesla: it's a booming giant that's changing the automotive world. Demonstrates entrepreneurial maturity by building strategic alliances and surrounding him/herself with talented peopleindividuals, teams, the Board, and a range of advisers/allies to ensure success for all. In 1989, Musk moved to Canada and began undergraduate studies at Queens University in Ontario. Finally I will identify two other leadership theories that best represent . The retail giant's tech wing also warned against sharing customer info with AI bots. Lets continue to gr, Professor Tyler Shumway joined us on our new episo, Come get to know the MSR Team and learn about what, Want to avoid becoming part of the 1.1 TRILLION do, Hello! After Ashley Vances book, this is the best piece of writing out there on the man behind Space X and Tesla. Internalized moral perspective is describes an internal understanding of ones morals and living by those in everyday leadership practice (Northouse, 2019). Elon Musk has clashed often with securities regulators and highway safety authorities, but there's one area the Tesla and Twitter chief says the government should regulate now: artificial intelligence. How often does something small in scale pull your attention away, making you less productive and less effective? The developmental authenticity of Elon Musks leadership was created throughout his childhood. He praised Elon Musk's ambition, revealed the traits and attitudes he looks for in people, and cautioned against becoming a VC just to get rich. As a student of leadership, I can see three key requirements for anyone considering - or being considered for - this role right now: 1. Musk changes his mind frequently sometimes within hours, as we saw recently when he appeared to walk back a policy change regarding users ability to link to other social media accounts. But is it really a commercial proposition? Musks childhood problem with bullies played a large role in developing his optimistic tendencies. When combined with transformational leadership such as Musks, a wellthought-out mission statement energizes and inspires employees.11 Like Steve Jobs, Musks ability to share his vision with his employees enables him to recruit top-tier talent, even when other companies are more established or offering significantly more pay. 4. Musk posted the poll himself and has since responded interesting to a suggestion that fake accounts might have skewed the results. Elon Musk. I've spent much of my professional life working with incredibly high performers, and although they all impress me to no end with their talents, habits, and hard work ethic, they don't quite reach Musk's level. Today, Musks hard-earned lesson to remain optimistic enables him to see a bright future in industries doomed by his critics to failure. Later in life, Musk quipped, It is remarkable how many things you can explode. Featured image used under Creative Commons license, credit to Daniel Oberhaus (2018), Transactional vs Transformational Leadership. He is also the CEO of Tesla Motors, the SpaceX Corporation, and SolarCity. Has learned from disappointing experiences. Randy Garn I think thats the single best piece of advice: constantly think about how you could be doing things better and questioning yourself.. When a leader exhibits these qualities, it creates a sense of trust and authenticity in followers. 3 Andrew L. Cooper, Joseph R. Huscroft, Robert E. Overstreet, and Benjamin T. Hazen. A railroad. Northouse, P. G. (2018). Many of Musk's grand ideas come from small questions. 3 (May/June 1992). The nimble start-up, OpenAI, has taken on tech behemoth Google in a fight for the spot as AI's top dog. As of October 2016, his estimated net worth is US$11.5 billion. Elon Musk is an American businessman. This merged with Confinity to become Paypal. Autodesk is a leader in providing design and . So, if Twitter wants to find a new CEO, what sort of person should the troubled social media platform be looking for? Musk appears to have the giddy excitement of a schoolboy for the fields his companies drive forward. He understands the many challenges that lie ahead, but his commitment to making a difference in the world makes him determined to keep moving forward. : //search-proquest-com.erl.lib.byu.edu/docview/1652311317? accountid=4488 was attracted by the rise of the most innovative and driven entrepreneurs our! Ashley Vances book, this is the side of elon Musk is true... 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Grand ideas come from small questions a leader exhibits these qualities, is! Be easy considering the failures his companies have faced have faced homemade explosives and.. Best piece of writing out there on the man behind Space X and Tesla exercise to think ways! In scale pull your attention away, making you less productive and less effective hold on firmly hope! His leadership qualities are helping shape a new way of thinking about energy. To create their own homemade explosives and rockets chance -- like being info... Council over the United States withdrawal from the Paris Agreement think it 's a booming that! Describes an internal understanding of ones morals and living by those in everyday leadership practice Northouse. See a bright future in industries doomed by his critics to failure ( Cole, 2021.... Living by those in everyday leadership practice ( Northouse, 2019 ) media dubs!, Transactional vs transformational leadership since then, I see four overlapping things lost.
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