Ever since I became aware of Tesla, I began to conduct extensive research to learn more about the company. Later on, I found it increasingly intriguing to seek further information on Elon Musk, even though he is considered controversial by some. However, I tend to focus on the positive aspects of his character. There must be something unique, if not exceptional, about him that enabled him to establish and revolutionise Tesla and make such a significant impact on the automotive industry. As someone who has a deep passion for cars and the automotive sector, Tesla serves as a compelling case study for me. I am also interested in examining his management and leadership style.
After reading “Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future” by Ashlee Vance, I gained valuable insights from the innovative mind of Elon Musk. I was deeply intrigued by his unique approach to changing the world and his unconventional way of thinking. It is highly beneficial to examine case studies of his work and to encourage innovative, creative, and out-of-the-box thinking among students. We must cultivate more of the Elon Musk way of thinking to foster greater breakthroughs, new ideas, and exceptional products.
Musk’s approach is distinctive, as he thinks outside of the box and behaves in unconventional ways while striving to develop new and innovative products. As such, in this instance, I would like to discuss Elon’s leadership and management style, to glean insights that we may apply to improve our approach
However controversial as he seems to find success, Elon Musk without a doubt stands apart as one of the most imaginative — and notorious — visionaries in recent memory.
The success of Tesla, and the impact it has had on the automotive industry, can largely be attributed to the leadership and management style of Elon Musk. He has consistently demonstrated his ability to think and behave differently, and his approach to product development and problem-solving is unique.
One of the key elements of his leadership style is his ability to inspire and motivate his team. He does this by creating a shared vision that everyone can get behind. By articulating a compelling goal and communicating his passion for it, he inspires his team to work hard and stay committed. For example, when launching the Falcon Heavy rocket, he set a goal of making space travel more accessible to the public. By doing so, he was able to create a sense of purpose among his team and drive them to achieve their goal.
Another element of his leadership style is his willingness to take risks. He is known for pursuing ambitious goals that others might shy away from. For instance, when Tesla was first established, it was widely believed that electric cars were not viable in the market. However, he was undeterred and continued to pour his resources into Tesla until it became a leading manufacturer of electric vehicles.
He is also a strong believer in continuous learning and improvement. He encourages his team to question the status quo and experiment with new approaches. This approach was exemplified in the development of the Falcon Heavy rocket, which was built using reusable rockets. By taking a risk and trying something new, he and his team were able to achieve a breakthrough that had not been previously accomplished.
Being “complicated” is part of being an assertive and charismatic innovator. However, despite the divergent opinions Musk elicits from his employees and the general public, it is undeniable that he is influencing the future one project at a time. Here are some of the tactics that Musk is known to employ daily across all of his businesses, including confronting issues head-on, accepting failure, and avoiding meetings whenever possible.
His leadership style
He Inspires His Team
Having a vision and inspiring others to help make it a reality is one of the fundamental principles of transformational leadership. You must have an exceptionally convincing objective for the organization,” Musk has made sense of. ” If you put yourself in the shoes of a world-class talent, they must believe in the company’s leader and that you are the right person to work with, and that there is potential for great results. What makes Elon is his capacity to cause individuals to put stock in his vision. It positively doesn’t hurt that his sights are determined to fabricate a superior future and further develop ventures for everyone’s best interests, from automotive to energy to space travel. The man has nothing but ambition. The majority of us can’t fathom how these things could work; He is three or four steps ahead of us. He can’t imagine it going wrong. His team is inspired by this level of self-assurance and determination.
He Sets Stretch Goals
Whether it’s creating brain chips to revolutionise neuroscience or finding a way to colonize Mars, Musk’s “stretch goal” strategy includes those wildly ambitious and, as a result, always-motivating goals. The Harvard Business Review states that “stretch goals involve radical expectations that go beyond current capabilities and performance” and that they are also characterized by extreme novelty. In addition, even though the Business Review asserts that Tesla “failed to meet more than 20 of founder Elon Musk’s ambitious projections and missed half of them by nearly a year” in the past, the publication also observes that “stretch goals are often viewed as truly important sources of individual and organisational motivation and achievement.”
One of his ex-staff said that “When Elon says something, you need to stop and not proclaim ‘Well, that is inconceivable.’ You zip it, give it some thought, and then you come up with ways to finish it. I’ve generally felt like my occupation was to take these thoughts and transform them into organisation objectives, to make them feasible.”
He Challenges the Status Quo
Musk is a firm believer in paving his own path to set the standard in every industry he works in. Doing things that have never been done before is necessary to accomplish new goals. The other piece of advice I would give is not to blindly follow trends, “the engineer and entrepreneur stated. Challenge the status quo and question it.”
He Continuously Focuses On Detail
Musk is a notable obsessive worker, which fills in as both a gift and a revile for his representatives. On the one hand, he sets a good example by being involved in every aspect of his projects: When you’re CEO or co-founder, you have to do a lot of things you might not want to do. The company won’t succeed if you don’t do your job. No job is too small.
However, his well-known tendency to micromanage has strained relationships within his businesses. He is extremely hands-on and “obsessive about the details” in addition to working over 100 hours per week.
He requests individual responsibility from individuals that are nearest to the machines. People are alarmed by this. They are stressed that he will come to their area and begin getting clarification on pressing issues.”
As per previous Tesla and SpaceX representative, Spencer Violence, “When he includes himself in low-level subtleties it’s to improve execution speed. This can be frustrating and even heartbreaking for some engineers, but Elon’s unconventional style is what built the Tesla that we all chose to join.
He Recruits Insightfully and Great People
While a few previous representatives keep up with “There is only one chief at Tesla, and it’s Elon Musk,” doubtlessly that the President sees the worth in building a great group. ” Talent is of the utmost significance. It resembles a games group, the group that has the best individual player will frequently win however at that point there’s a multiplier from how those players cooperate and the methodology they utilise.”
Additionally, Musk carefully selects his employees to form that team. Musk has stated, “Hiring great people is 90% of the solution because hiring the wrong people can cost you a lot.” We challenge our people leaders to recruit individuals who are superior to themselves, thereby improving the company with each hire.
He Absorbs Failures
They don’t worry about failing. And let’s just say that Musk has experienced it numerous times, such as when the windows of his “unbreakable” Tesla Cybertruck twice broke.
Be that as it may, disappointment doesn’t wreck his dreams. He embraces it instead as a means of demonstrating that his team is disrupting the system: Here, failure is an option. “You are not innovating if things are not failing,” he stated.
Obviously, for a fussbudget like Musk, disappointment is additionally important to distinguish issues, and afterwards get to the next level. ” You should assume that you are incorrect. “Being less wrong is your goal.”
He Uses Feedback To Find Solutions
When an individual views failure as a lesson, they can confront issues head-on to discover solutions and ultimately achieve their objective. Continuous feedback is Musk’s self-described “single piece of advice” for himself and his team in this situation.
“I believe that having a feedback loop in which you are constantly considering what you have done and how you could be doing it better is very important. That is, in my opinion, the most valuable piece of advice: “Continually consider how you could be doing things better and question yourself.”
In Musk’s ventures, even criticism is helpful. A thoroughly examined evaluation of anything that you’re doing is pretty much as important as gold. That should come from everyone you can, but especially from your friends. Most of the time, your friends know what’s wrong, but they don’t want to tell you because they don’t want to hurt you, he said. “You at least want to listen very carefully to what they say,” says the critic, “even if you don’t agree with what they say.”
He Values Communication
Communication is clearly at the heart of that aforementioned “feedback loop,” and Musk encourages his employees to communicate effectively.
In 2018, the CEO and founder of Tesla Motors urged his team to communicate as quickly and directly as possible and to always ignore any kind of “chain of command” in an internal letter to employees.
“Communication shouldn’t go through the “chain of command,” but rather the shortest route necessary to complete the task. In the email, he wrote, “Any manager who attempts to enforce chain of command communication will soon find themselves working elsewhere.”
Poor departmental communication is a major problem. Allowing the free flow of information between all levels is the solution to this problem. Things will go wrong if an individual contributor has to talk to their manager, then to a director, then to a vice president, then to another vice president, then to a director, then to a manager, and finally to someone who is doing the work to get something done between departments. It must be acceptable for people to speak up and do the right thing.
He Doesn’t Like Meetings
The same efficiency model is used for everything, including the least favorite activity in every workplace: Meetings. In his inward Tesla email, Musk additionally deferred the requirement for pointless gatherings that sit around idly and bring about no significant action items.
“Big companies suffer from excessive meetings, which almost always get worse over time. Please leave all large meetings unless you are certain that they will benefit the entire audience, in which case they should be kept to a minimum, he wrote.
“Also, unless you are dealing with an extremely urgent matter, avoid holding frequent meetings. Once the urgent issue has been resolved, the frequency of meetings should decrease rapidly. As soon as you realize you aren’t adding value, leave a meeting or return a call. While it is not impolite to leave, it is impolite to make someone remain and waste their time.
He’s Adaptable
Musk’s capacity to pivot and alter course at will may be both one of his greatest assets and one of his greatest weaknesses. The billionaire has been known to quickly pivot on projects or change his mind based on what needs attention right now.
According to a former employee who spoke with Business Insider, “What he reads on social media is what ultimately triggers him to act and make a decision.” At the point when you’re in a conference with him, he will turn the course of the association in a real sense for the time being. Therefore, manufacturing might be a problem right now, and as soon as it stops being talked about in the news and on social media, he’ll move on to whatever the news says the new problem is.
However, his one-of-a-kind management style and his efforts to create a challenging work environment have undoubtedly contributed to his multibillion-dollar success.
In addition to his leadership style, Musk is also known for his unique management approach. He emphasizes the importance of open communication and collaboration and is committed to creating a culture of transparency and accountability. For example, Tesla has an open-door policy that encourages employees to share their ideas and concerns with management. This approach not only fosters a sense of trust and collaboration but also ensures that problems are identified and addressed quickly.
Finally, he is a strong advocate for innovation and creativity. He recognizes that to achieve success, companies must be willing to think outside the box and pursue unconventional ideas. For example, TESLA’s new Cybertruck design was met with mixed reactions when it was first unveiled. However, Musk stood by the design, explaining that it was a radical departure from the traditional approach to truck design and was intended to shake up the industry.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Musk’s leadership and management style is characterized by a willingness to take risks, inspire and motivate his team, encourage continuous learning and improvement, foster open communication and collaboration, and prioritize innovation and creativity. By emulating these traits, individuals and organizations can achieve success and drive positive change in their respective industries.
Before I rest my case, I’ve gathered some of his quotes on leadership.
Here is some Elon Musk quotes on leadership with explanations of the lessons we can learn from them:
- “I think leadership is not about being liked; it’s about being effective.” – This quote highlights the fact that as a leader, it is important to make decisions that may not always be popular or well-liked, but are necessary for the success of the organization. The lesson we can learn is that as leaders, we must be willing to make tough decisions and take unpopular stands for the greater good.
- “My job is to not be easy on people. My job is to make them better.” – As a leader, it is important to push people to be their best selves, even if it means being tough on them. The lesson we can learn is that as leaders, it is our responsibility to help our team members grow and improve, even if it requires us to be demanding.
- “Great companies are built on great products.” – This quote emphasizes the importance of product excellence in building a successful company. The lesson we can learn is that as leaders, we should prioritize the quality of our products or services and ensure that they meet the needs of our customers.
- “If you’re trying to create a company, it’s like baking a cake. You have to have all the ingredients in the right proportion.” – This quote highlights the importance of having a well-balanced team with the right mix of skills and expertise. The lesson we can learn is that as leaders, we should focus on building a team that complements each other’s strengths and weaknesses and creates a cohesive unit.
- “The path to the CEO’s office should not be through the CFO’s office, and it should not be through the marketing department. It needs to be through engineering and design.” – This quote emphasizes the importance of prioritizing product development over other functions such as finance or marketing. The lesson we can learn is that as leaders, we should prioritize product innovation and development, and ensure that our engineering and design teams are given the resources and support they need to succeed.
- “Really pay attention to negative feedback and solicit it, particularly from friends. … Hardly anyone does that, and it’s incredibly helpful.” – This quote emphasizes the importance of being open to criticism and feedback. The lesson we can learn is that as leaders, we should actively seek out feedback from our team members, colleagues, and even friends to help us improve and grow.
- “If you’re trying to create a company, it’s important to limit the number of things that are variables, because anything can go wrong at any time.” – This quote highlights the importance of focusing on the most important aspects of the business and not getting distracted by too many variables. The lesson we can learn is that as leaders, we should prioritize our resources and efforts on the core aspects of our business that will drive success, and not get distracted by too many peripheral factors.
I know that my reflections on Elon Musk will inspire each reader to introspect and scrutinise our present management style and approach, and subsequently determine strategies to improve our team and organisation’s effectiveness. While we may not aspire to construct cars, and spaceships, or colonise Mars, we can still selectively adopt elements of his leadership philosophy that align with our values and goals.
