When Musk is brave with his decisions, his team is empowered with the same courage. Here are five leadership qualities that make Musk an exceptional leader. All he focused on was the task at hand. ChatGPT vs. Bard: A Modern Day David and Goliath Story. Read our privacy policy for more information. Great Resignation Climate Change Leadership Inflation Ukraine Invasion . Confidence and independence A new Twitter CEO will want. 3 Andrew L. Cooper, Joseph R. Huscroft, Robert E. Overstreet, and Benjamin T. Hazen. accessed November 11, 2017. https://www.inc.com/larry-kim/50-innovation-amp;-successquotes-from-spacex-founder-elon-musk.html. Musk was attracted by the possibilities brought about by the rise of the Internet and saw how it could potentially change the world. SpaceXs experimental rockets frequently make the news for launch failures. Shareholders in the car firm would probably like their hitherto successful CEO back full time. accessed November 23, 2017. http://fortune.com/2016/03/04/ companies-employees-tuition-reimbursement/. Musk once said, If something is important enough, even if the odds are against you, you should still do it. He possesses illustrious leadership qualities, skills, and styles, some of which are being discussed here. This leadership style's strengths are innovative thinking, analysis, problem-solving, planning, and strategy execution. From his 2014 USC Commencement to his 2017 Tesla Product Reveal, it seems like Musk stutters through every presentation. I feel the exact same way. Heres part 1. But any replacement will need to be able to steer Twitter back to calmer waters, with Musk remaining majority owner. He faced failure and strife, but he maintained his optimism and was able to continue on through his resilience (Northouse, 2019; Cole, 2021). 12 Wall St. Sometimes, as a leader, you need to step back and say no when things no longer serve your personal and organizational goals. I think thats the single best piece of advice: constantly think about how you could be doing things better and questioning yourself.. Entrepreneur and its related marks are registered trademarks of Entrepreneur Media Inc. 4. If we can overcome the initial fear of being told "no" and understand that no truly means nothing, we'll be better for it. In this segment were looking atElon Musk, the creator of brands such as PayPal, SpaceX, and Tesla. We'd, Thanks for all the support! One course of action many successful companies have implemented to create a learning culture is to give financial assistance to its employees to further their education.4 Educational benefits are becoming increasingly important as more millennials enter the workplace. Required fields are marked *, Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. His passion for his work is so intense that it fuels late-night shifts, motivates 80-hour work weeks, and, as we talked about in the last section, sleeping under his desk. That 100% meant enough to him that he put himself in a possibly awkward situation, speaking with his professor, and had the hard conversation that many people shy away from. Oprah Winfrey. I first became aware of Elon Musk from a tiny blurb in the newspaper. But can we describe why the SpaceX CEO is the way he is? Now look at Tesla: it's a booming giant that's changing the automotive world. 4296: 7379, September 17, 2012, 74. http://web.a.ebscohost.com.erl.lib.byu.edu/ehost/detail/ detail?vid=0&sid=df621e06-0389-45e2-b57a-8dd06f53bd48%40sessionmgr4006&bdata=Jn NpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=79961724&db=buh. Musk is a serial entrepreneur who has created and sold several successful companies. He often gets frustrated when employees cannot follow his instructions. We can also absentmindedly rattle off a stream of adjectives that describe him: innovator, leader, genius, visionary, futurist, entrepreneur. In his teen years, Musk spent a significant amount of time pouring over religious and philosophical texts. 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. Weve recently launched theBluePointe Capital TechnologyEntrepreneur of the Year Awardto honor the brilliant creators who are changing society for the better. The retail giant's tech wing also warned against sharing customer info with AI bots. I'll talk about them here. The truth is, if we are passionate - or find passion - in the work we're doing, work stops feeling like work. SpaceX almost went bankrupt. Wow, you scrolled all the way to the bottom! August 10, 2016. accessed November 23, 2017. https://www. Opinions expressed are those of the author. I dont believe that to be the case with Musk. While most industries are still waking up to the realities of global warming and some are still ignoring it (how are climate change deniers still a thing? This mindset helps him stay motivated and excited about what is next. How often does something small in scale pull your attention away, making you less productive and less effective? Their first child was lost to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) (Cole, 2021), which was the second notable critical life event. Elon Musk is an American businessman. However you feel about Elon Musk, some things are irrefutable: Hes extremely successful, is endlessly innovative and acts as a case study for creative leadership. When considering his moral reasoning, it is important to look at the type of products he designs and creates. Elon Musk is a honest person/executive, the world we live has a great lack of honesty. Promoting life-long learning among a companys employees is essential to maintaining its competitive edge. In this case, a core task for the new CEO will be to recognise what sort of business Twitter is, and decide whether it is really a conventional for-profit business at all. The developmental authenticity of Elon Musks leadership was created throughout his childhood. Using his own money from the sale of Paypal, Musk started SpaceX, a company dedicated to lowering the costs of space travel. Its long, but well worth the read! Musk was born on June 28, 1971, making him 48-years-old at the time of publication. April 21, 2017. accessed November 23, 2017. https://hbr.org/2016/10/like-it-or-notyou-are-always-leading-by-example?referral=03758&cm_vc=rr_item_page.top_right. The basic aim of the study is to find out to what extent the patterns of leadership tactics match with Musk's leadership in Tesla motors. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elon-Musk. Creates a culture of innovation. He then moved across the United States to California to pursue a PhD at Stanford; but after two days, he left the program to pursue becomingan entrepreneur. Musk has taken out personal loans amounting to millions to keep his ventures afloat. Today, Musks hard-earned lesson to remain optimistic enables him to see a bright future in industries doomed by his critics to failure. Think of your own work-life and the way you go about your day-to-day tasks. The company was sold to eBay in 2002 and netted Musk US$180 million in the process. How often are you distracted? Autodesk is a leader in providing design and . But can we. Musk has a preternatural ability to see past the current trends and statuses to see what could be. This is a BETA experience. Working 120-hour weeks doesn't leverage your unique qualities, it wastes them. 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). Recognizes business imperative of anticipating and embracing changes occurring in the competitive environment through continuous improvement in all aspects of the business. While there are lots of impressive leaders, few touch his superhero scale. Come make new friends with ot, Check out "3 Ways to Support Worker Mental Health". Or Elon Musk announcing his company's latest innovation in automobile production. Internalized moral perspective is describes an internal understanding of ones morals and living by those in everyday leadership practice (Northouse, 2019). Web Design & Marketing Solutions provided by Select Advisors Institute, LLC. In consideration of the leadership skills of Jobs and Musk, I see four overlapping things. As of October 2016, his estimated net worth is US$11.5 billion. And Tesla Motors has remained unprofitable for more than a decade.But thanks to his unwavering belief in the long-term importance of these projects, investors and the general public have remained supportive. How often are you distracted? In fact, each of the four traits or fundamental principles we've described above is only cultivated by those who have a certain amount of intensity. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Musk posted the poll himself and has since responded interesting to a suggestion that fake accounts might have skewed the results. And the commitment to bettering ones self in conjunction with honing leadership skills, and embracing a mission we put ourselves in a position to be great leaders. As a child, Musk had a passion for science fiction books and movies. The truth is, if we are passionate or find passion in the work we're doing, work stops feeling like work. Musk chose de facto mentors from a practically endless library of great leaders, like Benjamin Franklin, Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, and of course, Nikolas Tesla. After Ashley Vances book, this is the best piece of writing out there on the man behind Space X and Tesla. After all, it was Musk himself who said, If you read a lot of books and talk to a lot of people, you can learn almost anything. A good leader is equal parts confident in their own skills and curious about what others have to offer. 11 Duane Ireland, and Michael A. Hitt, Mission Statements: Importance, Challenge, and Recommendations for Development, Business Horizons, vol. Northouse, P. G. (2018). What Elon Musk has . Musk is not content with doing what everyone else is doing; he seeks solutions for important, large-scale issues that will change the way we live. 10. . 17 Shawn Achor, The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles That Fuel Success and Performance at Work (London: Virgin, 2011). 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