Biography.com Editors. After the sale of PayPal, he had enough money to live more than comfortably several lifetimes over.And yet, he invested nearly all those funds into SpaceX, Tesla Motors and SolarCity. This kind of thinking makes many companies mediocre. We can also absentmindedly rattle off a stream of adjectives that describe him: innovator, leader, genius, visionary, futurist, entrepreneur. 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. Rational transparency is about ones ability to express their true self to others, regardless of whether the aspects of themselves are positive or negative (Northouse, 2019). 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. Elon Musk. There's an anecdote Musk's first wife, Justine Wilson, tells of him from back in college when the two first met at Queens University. For leadership profiles of other famous business leaders, including Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, and Warren Buffett, check out our Business Leadership Profiles section. 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. In 1992, Musk received a scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania, which was his golden ticket into the United States (Cole, 2021). Elon Musk is inventive, intuitive, sociable, and adaptable. Jun 21, 2022 Heres part 1. By age 14, he was designing rockets with paper and pencil. He is a force of knowledge that is easily recognizable not only from his long history of business endeavors, but also by his connection to his followers. 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). If we can overcome the initial fear of being told "no" and understand that no truly means nothing, we'll be better for it. This flow state is only achieved when the person can perform undistracted by other, less significant tasks. This might be a little bit more difficult to do, but I think it's possible. 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. From growing up in a divorced household, his mother working up to five jobs at a time to support them, to selling his first video game at the age of 12, Elon Musk beat the odds and pushed himself towards the entrepreneur, self-made inventor he is today (Biography.com Editors, 2021). There are occasions when Musk's employees or those working with him find him hard to work with. Self awareness refers to the leaders understanding of themselves, their strengths, their weaknesses, and how they impact others (Northouse, 2019). His other ventures include Hyperloop (his design for a high-speed transportation system that would drastically reduce travel times) and OpenAI (a non-for-profit research company dedicated to artificial intelligence). Watch this TED Talk interview with Elon Musk: Wait But Why did anamazingseries on Elon Musk. Demonstrates perseverance in the face of adversity and to overcoming obstacles. With transformational leadership styles on the rise, Elon Musk has also entered the list of the 21st century's most influential CEOs along with Steve Jobs, Reed Hastings, and Jeff Bezos. Hes on a mission to save humanity. While there are lots of impressive leaders, few touch his superhero scale. Opinions expressed are those of the author. 4. He is honest, hard-working, and a leader who has influenced many. Wow, you scrolled all the way to the bottom! Stefan Stern does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. Even if your personal vision isnt as revolutionary or world-changing as Musks, its important to have a goal that motivates you to do better and inspires your team to work together. He views these as experiments that didnt work out and simply moves on to the next step. 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. 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. Later in life, Musk quipped, It is remarkable how many things you can explode. Lifelong learning is a key component of Musks leadership style. First, according to the theory of authentic leadership, Musk had to exhibit positive psychological capacities and moral reasoning, and had to experience a critical event, in order to develop into an authentic leader (Northouse, 2019). Had he been afraid of failure, two of the most recognizable companies in the United States may no longer exist. His leadership qualities are helping shape a new way of thinking about sustainable energy and renewable resources. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. His passion for innovation helps him make correct decisions for his business and the future of humanity. He may rethink stepping down, or even appoint someone only to sack them. A great leader must have a vision and it is not about just knowing where you are but also where you want to be. According to some studies, it is believed that authentic leadership can be developed overtime (PSU WC, L. 12, 2021). Question and challenge the status quo. By Why Data Privacy Is Still Important for You, Where Accounting Meets Crimefighting: A more exciting career option for accounting students. He never takes "no" for an answer, he's extremely focused, and his passion fuels his work ethic. They push people out, spiral out of control, or end up underperforming dramatically. Leading From Front. Has potential to influence by contributing something to the world that improves it in a new and different way and creates a social impact. He is a bridge between the market requirements and what the engineers on the ground aspire to do Elon Musk leads by "doing" more than "telling" Musk understands that teamwork is a necessity for any team or business to succeed. Elon Musk's current net worth is a whopping $152 Billion. Since then he has made and sometimes walked back numerous changes to the popular social media platform. 12 Wall St. 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. But he wouldn't take no for an answer. And this leads us to a major task for any future Twitter CEO and perhaps the heart of the problem with Twitter. Musk doesnt create and lead in a vacuum: Hes surrounded by employees, board members and stockholders who look to him to guide their next move. Elon Musk Leadership Assembles the Right Team. Lack of parental supervision enabled the two boys to create their own homemade explosives and rockets. He's quite possibly a genius. As of October 2016, his estimated net worth is US$11.5 billion. Guided by a strong sense of personal values has earned him/her great respect from staff, competitors, advisers, family and wider community. The truth is, if we are passionate - or find passion - in the work we're doing, work stops feeling like work. Elon Musk is a business mogul, engineer and inventor, best known for founding and leading SpaceX (a company that aims to lower the costs of building rockets with the ultimate goal of multi-planetary colonization by humans) and Tesla Motors (a company that produces electric cars). Today, Musks 100-hour-work weeks lie at the core of his success. Nominate him or her for our award by visiting here. Musk paid US$44 billion to buy it, perhaps twice what it was worth. 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. Nations hire him to get to outer space. 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. So, if Twitter wants to find a new CEO, what sort of person should the troubled social media platform be looking for? In Simon Sineks book Leaders Eat Last, he details a less commonly acknowledged, yet equally important, aspect of leading from the front. The truth is, if we are passionate or find passion in the work we're doing, work stops feeling like work. Works on Ground Level. Mission statements provide a sense of focus and direction among employees. He is the CEO and CTO of SPACEX, CEO of tesla motors, and chairman of solar-city. How can you and your organization make a positive difference in the world? Here's how to do the latter, like a boss. Builds and rebuilds the teams commitment to the common goals. His next venture was X.com, an online banking service he started in 1999. 1. 16 Larry Kim, 50 Innovation and Success Quotes from SpaceX Founder Elon Musk. Inc.com. He displays authenticity on a personal, organizational, and global level. Twitter is a resounding practical success. 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). Tesla Motors is a maker of electric cars. As a child, Musk became interested in computer programming and taught himself to code. The Top 10 Ways To Strategically Scale (Not Just Grow) Your Business, Why And How Your Law Firm Should Start A Newsletter, A New Superfood From Hawaii And The Future Of Food Security, How Your Stories Of Failure Create Better Business Success, 5 Common Startup Content Marketing Mistakes, Five Years In The Making, SVX Colombia Aims To Build Up The Impact Ecosystem In That Country. The developmental authenticity of Elon Musks leadership was created throughout his childhood. While he has garnered enormous respect due to his transformational leadership, he still exhibits autocratic leadership traits. Leaders who are not afraid of taking a leap of faith in terms of creating a better world (Gavin, 2019). In fact, there was a time during Tesla's infancy where a specific problem needed solving, so Musk would sleep under his desk and work 75-hour weeks until that problem was solved. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed on this website are those of the writers or the people they quoted and not necessarily those of Leaderonomics. Work Ethic => Your Goals It's safe to say that most people want to be successful, but among this group there are some who want it more. Musk was born on June 28, 1971, making him 48-years-old at the time of publication. Shareholders in the car firm would probably like their hitherto successful CEO back full time. 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.. While the post was prestigious and offered the benefits of extreme power at the highest level, recognizing that the job no longer aligned with Musks mission for sustainability and care for the environment meant that it was diametrically opposed to his objectives. Further, Musk has been selling billions in Tesla stock and its share price is down by over 60% this year. Musk is obviously intense. Musk may have imagined that owning the website would be fun and make him feel powerful. Sign up for notifications from Insider! He hires brilliant and talented individuals that can design and develop his products. Authentic leadership has three components to its definition that I believe Elon Musk meets criteria for. Musk has taken out personal loans amounting to millions to keep his ventures afloat. Throughout his childhood, Musk was repeatedly bullied by many of his classmates, once even to the point where he had to be rushed to the hospital. 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. Since his parents were divorced when he was only nine years old, Elon and his younger brother Kimbal were left much of the time to explore the world on their own. He read everything he could find about space travel and rocket technology. Someone who has reached goals youre still working on can give you real-life, actionable tips to becoming a better leader. "Being immersed can be defined as a state of focus in which a person is completely absorbed and engrossed in their work." 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. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future. Relinquish CEO duties to a qualified candidate Accept an alternative leadership role that aligns with the expertise and time availability Restructure Tesla's board of directors without conflicts of interest or dependencies ), Musk has been working to solve these growing problems for more than a decade.To paraphrase an amusing analogy I recently came across: While most industry leaders have been playing checkers, Musk has been playing StarCraft.But more than having a vision, leaders should clearly communicate that vision to their followers. Decisions for his business and the Quest for a Fantastic future, 2021 ) stops feeling work... $ 152 billion `` Being immersed can be defined as a child, Musk became interested in computer programming taught. Been afraid of taking a leap of faith in terms of creating a better world ( Gavin, ). His estimated net worth is US $ 11.5 billion provide a sense of and... On Elon Musk still exhibits autocratic leadership traits, two of the writers or people. 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