In the modern capitalistic world where the top executives stay away from places like factories. So what are the most important characteristics of a good leader? 10. An authentic leader creates better relationships with colleagues, creates higher levels of trust, increased productivity, and a more positive working environment (Gavin, 2019). 1. Eventually he went on to study at Stanford and began to pursue his technology legacy (Cole, 2021). However, there's no denying that Elon Musk deserves a spot near the top of that list. Businesses can't replicate Musk's lifetime of experience in their employees. He received his first computer at 9 and by 12 had coded and sold a video game (Cole, 2021). A railroad. 2023 Leaderonomics Sdn. 4. 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. Superheroes emulate him. This mightbe a little bit more difficult to do, but I think it's possible. You don't have to be a CEO to be a visionary leader. Because managers generally interact with a large number of employees, they have a tremendous opportunity to influence office culture. Why is Elon Musk so scared of Artificial Intelligence? 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. 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. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider 3. Elon Musk. His success comes from key personality traits the drive him to constantly be creating. His leadership qualities are helping shape a new way of thinking about sustainable energy and renewable resources. Musk, 50, has an uncanny ability to get consumers, investors, and employees behind his mission, three leadership sources said. Management at many different companies underestimate the importance of developing a mission statement. So the new CEO will need to be confident, perhaps even arrogant, and ready to stand their ground. And Musk quickly became one of my personal heroes. But is it really a commercial proposition? 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. 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. Hes on a mission to save humanity. Since then he has made and sometimes walked back numerous changes to the popular social media platform. Musk was born on June 28, 1971, making him 48-years-old at the time of publication. Musk has responded that hell step down when he finds someone foolish enough to take over as CEO, saying he will run the software and server teams instead. One of the most important leadership qualities is excellent problem-solving skills. Its been a tumultuous year for Twitter and Musk. Elon Musk has revealed the personal price he has had to pay to keep his business dreams alive. References Elon Musk is a billionaire and inventor who has reshaped the business world with his work in PayPal, Tesla, SpaceX, and SolarCity. Leadership: Theory and Practice. Elon Musk's current net worth is a whopping $152 Billion. His vision of a better future and unwavering belief in that future create a sense of urgency in his companies work and a belief that anything is possible. There are many CEOs, looking like a CEO, they are trying to how theirselves honest for PR campaigns to make people to believe their words and actions, but it is not a true leader should be like. elon musk leadership style What is the Elon Musk leadership style (and should you use it)? Elon Musk is widely admired for visible entrepreneurship. . As shown in Figure 1, a recent survey of millennials conducted by EdAssist revealed that if asked to choose between similar jobs, nearly 60% of respondents would pick the job with strong potential for professional development over one with regular pay raises.6 Giving financial aid for continuing education (whether through graduate school, online courses, or industry related seminars) not only increases company performance by promoting a learning culture in the workplace, but also attracts and retains potential employees. His interpersonal qualities hold a lot of weight in Musks life as he is very active with new startup companies such as cryptocurrencies, Twitter, his appearance on SNL, and overall presence in news and tabloids connecting him to his followers. Indeed, many prominent advertisers left the site apparently in response to Musks chaotic decision making. You have two choices in life - to see the world as a pessimist, or . Leaders are often faced with complex challenges that require critical thinking and effective decision-making. Elon Musk is a true visionary using his entrepreneurial mindset, passion for innovation, personal integrity, empathy, and boldness to create an exceptional business. Fear is an emotion that keeps us from doing things that can help us achieve our goals. Because "no" meant nothing. How many opportunities are lost because of our fear of asking? Pennsylvania State University World Campus. He sees problems as opportunities and that is what has led him to his success. He holds South . Elon Musk's leadership style is transformational since it focuses on innovation and achieving large scale goals. In his teen years, Musk spent a significant amount of time pouring over religious and philosophical texts. After Ashley Vances book, this is the best piece of writing out there on the man behind Space X and Tesla. All he focused on was the task at hand. Elon Musk possesses the ability to think at the system level of design. This leadership style's strengths are innovative thinking, analysis, problem-solving, planning, and strategy execution. He attended private schools and had a tough time as he was severely bullied by his peers. 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). Tesla balance. (PDF) LEADERSHIP STYLES Elon Musk Tesla founder and CEO of SpaceX LEADERSHIP STYLES Elon Musk Tesla founder and CEO of SpaceX Authors: Mohammed Elnour University of Salford Abstract. Adib Ibne Yousuf, MBA student of BUP. These five traits together create what is presumably a great leader (Gavin, 2019). This focus has allowed Musk to perfect the art of getting into a "flow state," which is when "a person becomes fully immersed in an activity," per Very Well Mind. Researcher Fred David found that 59 percent of the Chief Executive Officers of Business Weeks top 1,000 firms run companies that do not havemissionstatements.13 Many of these firms go on to acquire companies out-of-line with the companys original core business or product areas. 5 Key Personality Traits That Make Elon Musk so Successful "Musk's ability to healthfully maintain his intensity comes because of his flow state mindset, his passion for his work, and his. 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. Find out why in this fantastic piece (also from Wait But Why). Related: Elon Musk Responds to a Request From a Tweeter Who Sent Him the Same Message 154 Times. So find a smallidea. But this small, simple detail is a defining one. You see, the 2% that separated Musk from his current score and perfection sounded to him like a giant "no." An electric railroad that goes through an enormous tunnel, dug into the side of a mountain. How often are you distracted? The social media platforms current position leads on to a third requirement for the new leader: imagination. There, he earned two degrees a Bachelor of Science in physics from the UPenn College of Arts and Sciences, and a Bachelor of Science in economics from the Wharton School of Business. Many of Musk's grand ideas come from small questions. Tesla will not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology.Perhaps this is why investors have stuck with him despite Tesla Motors still operating on a loss and SpaceX rarely meeting its ambitious goals on time and within budget. Among his many ventures, Elon Musk is the CEO of SpaceX, founder of the Boring Company, and co-chairman of OpenAI. 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. Related: When It Comes to Investing, Do You Think Like Warren Buffett or Elon Musk? Throughout his career, he has made decisions and moves that align with this vision and help take him closer to achieving them. What's the point of doing that? Learn More Every Day with This 2023 CES-Honored Knowledge App. Musk, as a leader, has the capability to create balance between who he is, the vision he has created for the world, and acknowledging the importance of the strength of his team (Cole, 2021). Nominate him or her for our award by visiting here. Works on Ground Level. PSYCH 485 | Lesson 12: Authentic Leadership https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2137573/modules/items/32271438. Elon Musk may be Time's person of the year, but fintech executives should not follow his cavalier communication style. Purpose: To learn and understand the qualities of Elon Musk as a leader that make him so successful. This is arguably the first of two critical life events. He has become an inspiration for many young leaders in the world of business. Sometimes, as a leader, you need to step back and say no when things no longer serve your personal and organizational goals. He's quite possibly a genius. As a child, Musk became interested in computer programming and taught himself to code. . Do you have a strong belief in it? The retail giant's tech wing also warned against sharing customer info with AI bots. Today, Musks 100-hour-work weeks lie at the core of his success. Since youre here, wed like to ask you to consider donating to the maintenance and upkeep of our site, which as it turns out is pretty expensive. 15 Sunny Bonnell, Every Entrepreneur Can Learn From These 5 Leadership Traits of Elon Musk. Entrepreneur. He is a true visionary who can see the road to the future. Trait #3: Glass Half Full Mentality. For some time now, I've been assessing Musk and have outlined five different reasons that explain why he's found such success. Ever since then, I have kept abreast with great interest the news surrounding this man the media often dubs the real-life Tony Stark. Elon Musk is a South Africa-born inventor and investor. I think its very important to have a feedback loop, where youre constantly thinking about what youve done and how you could be doing it better. However, Musk does it in a healthy, constructive way. accessed November 11, 2017. https://www.inc.com/larry-kim/50-innovation-amp;-successquotes-from-spacex-founder-elon-musk.html. Musk once said, "I'd rather be optimistic and wrong, than pessimistic and right.". This flow state is only achieved when the person can perform undistracted by other, less significant tasks. Companies looking to gain a competitive edge should invest in their human capital by creating an office culture conducive to developing quality managers. Bill Gates. Its long, but well worth the read! It certainly wouldn't be that way without Mr. Musk's unblinking focus at the forefront. Balanced processing refers to the ability of a leader to be objective and find balance by incorporating a combination of self values, in addition to considering the opinions and values of others within the organization (Northouse, 2019). A clear indicator of his innate capacity for technology. Authentic leadership has three components to its definition that I believe Elon Musk meets criteria for. 8th Edition. Realizing that learning never stops, staying curious and seeking different venues to satiate that thirst for information means that no one in Musks circle is resting on existing knowledge. His secret is that he taps into people's yearning for inspiration. However, Musk does it in a healthy, constructive way. Interesting business experiences from the past. He was also a man with a wonderful vision. Weve recently launched theBluePointe Capital TechnologyEntrepreneur of the Year Awardto honor the brilliant creators who are changing society for the better. His contributions in the fields of aerospace and sustainable energy (among others!) Musk may have imagined that owning the website would be fun and make him feel powerful. Elon Musk, one of the most creative leaders of our time, is widely seen as a visionary. Behavioral theories are crucial in understanding the conduct of . I would have been happy with a 98%. If being willful, and opinionated, yet adaptable are key traits to great leaders. Biography.com Editors. Adib Ibne Yousuf Follow Lack of parental supervision enabled the two boys to create their own homemade explosives and rockets. Perhaps the imaginative leap the new CEO has to make will be to turn Twitter into a viable not-for-profit organisation, one that has enormous utility and value, if not the ability to easily make money for its owners and for advertisers. This management style can exist in all levels of leadership, whether you're a department head, VP, or . Nations hire him to get to outer space. Elon Musk has married thrice and twice to the same woman. Fowler explains, I know that Im not just having an impact on my son, Im potentially having an impact on my sons best friends mother.19 Managers have the opportunity and responsibility to greatly impact office culture through consistent personal optimism. I dont believe that to be the case with Musk. The reason that we feel Elon Musk is an outstanding example of the entrepreneurial spirit is his ability to overcoming disappointment. Through his unique life circumstances, Musk has developed the important leadership qualities of being (1) a proactive learner, (2) a hard worker, (3) a bold visionary, and (4) an unwavering optimist, which still influence his success today. 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. The ability to face facts. World-renowned psychologist Shawn Achor asserts in his book The Happiness Advantage that happiness and positivity are key drivers of success and productivity.17 Figure 2 illustrates how, after extensive mathematical modeling, psychologist and business consultant Marcial Losada determined that 2.9013 is the ratio of positive-to-negative interactions necessary to make a corporate team successful. He faced failure and strife, but he maintained his optimism and was able to continue on through his resilience (Northouse, 2019; Cole, 2021). Otherwise, its not.16 For Musk, the only viable option was to hold on firmly to hope. The current study is narrowly focusing on the leadership traits of Elon Musk in Tesla motors. You may opt-out by. Because "no" meant nothing. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Musk summarizes his emotional response to being bullied as a child, If you get up in the morning and think the future is going to be better, it is a bright day. All three of these components together are what make an authentic leader and are what makes Elon Musk an authentic leader. The 45-year-old is best known for being the founder of X.Com which later became PayPal, one of the largest Internet payment companies. He didn't think about anything else. As a teenager, the self-denoted low point of Musks manual labor career involved donning a hazmat suit to clean boilers at a lumber mill by shoveling steaming goop from the inside of a tunnel. They have a strong sense of themselves and what they stand for (Northouse, 2019). This could be a part of why Elon Musk has been so successful. Relies on trusted individuals while showing ability to be an independent thinker and take risks in the face of uncertainty. Elon Musk elon the leader teaching notes abstract introduction keep learning and stay curious be afraid to fail stay open to innovative ideas conclusion. Visiting Professor of Management Practice, Bayes Business School, City, University of London. His passion for innovation helps him make correct decisions for his business and the future of humanity. 3 (2016): 584-602. https://searchproquest-com.erl.lib.byu.edu/docview/1776779178?accountid=4488. He has used his skills to aid in the design of electric cars and even spaceships. 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