FAREAST INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Assignment on
“Leadership for Management of Elon Musk”

Subject: Principles of Management (1313)

Submitted to
Shohana Siddique
Lecturer
Faculty of Business Administration.
Fareast International University.

Submitted by
Sammi Sultana
ID. 19301040
Program: BBA
Faculty of Business Administration.
Fareast International University.

May 27, 2020.

  Introduction
Leadership is a process by which an executive can direct, guide and influence the behavior and
work of others towards accomplishment of specific goals in a given situation. Leadership is the
ability of a manager to induce the subordinates to work with confidence and zeal. Leadership is
the potential to influence behavior of others. It is also defined as the capacity to influence a group
towards the realization of a goal. Leaders are required to develop future visions, and to motivate
the organizational members to want to achieve the visions.
Management is essential for an organized life and necessary to run all types of management. Good
management is the backbone of successful organizations. Managing life means getting things done
to achieve life’s objectives and managing an organization means getting things done with and
through other people to achieve its objectives. Whether management is an art or science, will
continue to be a subject of debate. However, most management thinkers agree that some form of
formal academic management background helps in managing successfully. Practically, all CEO’s
are university graduates. Hence, the reason for including business degree programs in all academic
institutions.
Leadership is setting a new direction or vision for a group that they follow, ie: a leader is the
spearhead for that new direction. Management controls or directs people/resources in a group
according to principles or values that have been established. There is much more to these
definitions than may at first appear. Albert Einstein said that everything should be made as simple
as possible but no simpler. However, it is an oversimplification to think that leaders lead and
followers follow, because the relationship between leadership, management, and followers is a
complex one. Also, leadership and management are often part of the same role because there is a
continual adjustment of the direction (leadership) and controlling resources to achieve that
direction (management). Leadership, as a topic, has experienced a dramatic increase in interest and
theoretical research over recent years. The complexities of practicing leadership have been
demonstrated by a range of contrasting theories. We can see the difference more clearly by looking
at some examples - of leadership without management, and management without leadership.

In my assignment I selected Elon Reeve Musk (Known as Elon Musk), is an engineer, industrial
designer and technology entrepreneur. He is a citizen of South Africa, Canada, and the United
States.
 The founder, CEO and chief engineer/designer of SpaceX,
 CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.
 Founder of The Boring Company.
 Co-founder of Neuralink.
 Co-founder and Initial Co-Chairman of OpenAI.
 He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2018.
 Provided the initial concept and financial capital for SolarCity.
In December 2016, he was ranked 21st on the Forbes list of The World's Most Powerful People,
and was ranked joint-first on the Forbes list of the Most Innovative Leaders of 2019. As of May
2020, he has a net worth of $36.5 billion and is listed by Forbes as the 31st-richest person in the
world. He is the longest tenured CEO of any automotive manufacturer globally. Musk has said the
goals of SpaceX, Tesla, and Solar City revolve around his vision to "change the world and help
humanity". His goals include reducing global warming through sustainable energy production and
consumption, and reducing the risk of human extinction by establishing a human colony on Mars.
  Profile of Elon Reeve Musk
Elon Reeve Musk was born June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa. The son of Maye
Musk (née Haldeman), a model and dietitian born in Saskatchewan, Canada and raised in South
Africa, and Errol Musk, a South African electromechanical engineer, pilot, and sailor. He has a
younger brother, Kimbal (born 1972), and a younger sister, Tosca (born 1974). His maternal
grandfather, Dr. Joshua Haldeman, was an American-born Canadian. His paternal grandmother
was British, and he also has Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry. After his parents divorced in 1980,
Musk lived mostly with his father in the suburbs of Pretoria, a choice he made two years after his
parents separated but which he subsequently regretted. Musk is estranged from his father, whom
he has referred to as "a terrible human being." He also has a half-sister and a half-brother. During
his childhood, Musk was an avid reader. At the age of 10, he developed an interest in computing
while using the Commodore VIC-20. He taught himself computer programming and, by the age
of 12, sold the code of a BASIC-based video game he created called Blastar to PC and Office
Technology magazine for approximately $500. His childhood reading included Isaac Asimov's
Foundation series, from which he drew the lesson that "you should try to take the set of actions
that are likely to prolong civilization, minimize the probability of a dark age and reduce the length
of a dark age if there is one". Musk was severely bullied throughout his childhood and was once
hospitalized after a group of boys threw him down a flight of stairs.

Education:
Musk attended Waterkloof House Preparatory School and Bryanston High School before
graduating from Pretoria Boys High School. Although Musk's father insisted that Elon go to
college in Pretoria, Musk became determined to move to the United States. While awaiting
Canadian documentation, Musk attended the University of Pretoria for five months. Once in
Canada, Musk entered Queen's University in 1989, avoiding mandatory service in the South
African military. He left in 1992 to study economics and physics at the University of
Pennsylvania, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and a Bachelor of
Science degree in physics. In 1994, Musk held two internships in Silicon Valley during the
summer, at an energy storage start-up called Pinnacle Research Institute, which researched
electrolytic ultra-capacitors for energy storage, and at the Palo Alto-based start-up Rocket Science
Games. Bruce Leak, the former lead engineer behind Apple's QuickTime who had hired Musk,
noted: "He had boundless energy. Kids these days have no idea about hardware or how stuff works,
but he had a PC hacker background and was not afraid to just go figure things out." In 1995, Musk
commenced a PhD in energy physics/materials science at Stanford University in California.
Eager to pursue opportunities in the internet boom, however, he dropped out after just two days to
launch his first company, Zip2 Corporation.

Career:
 Zip2 Corporation
In 1995, Musk and his brother, Kimbal, started Zip2, a web software company, with money raised
from a small group of angel investors. The company developed and marketed an internet city guide
for the newspaper publishing industry, with maps, directions and yellow pages, with the vector
graphics mapping and direction code being implemented by Musk in Java. Musk obtained
contracts with The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune, and persuaded the board of directors
to abandon plans for a merger with CitySearch. Musk's attempts to become CEO were thwarted
by the board. Compaq acquired Zip2 for US$307 million in cash, in February 1999. Musk received
US$22 million for his 7 percent share from the sale.

 X.com and PayPal

In March 1999, Musk co-founded X.com, an online financial services and e-mail payment
company, with US$10 million from the sale of Zip2. One year later, the company merged with
Confinity, which had a money-transfer service called PayPal. The merged company focused on
the PayPal service and was renamed PayPal in 2001. Musk was ousted in October 2000 from his
role as CEO (although he remained on the board) due to disagreements with other company
executives over his desire to move PayPal's Unix-based infrastructure to Microsoft Windows. In
October 2002, PayPal was acquired by eBay for US$1.5 billion in stock, of which Musk received
US$165 million. Before its sale, Musk, who was the company's largest shareholder, owned 11.7%
of PayPal's shares. In July 2017, Musk purchased the domain X.com from PayPal for an
undisclosed amount, stating that it has sentimental value to him.

 SpaceX
In 2001, Musk conceived Mars Oasis, a project to land a miniature experimental greenhouse on
Mars, containing food crops growing on Martian regolith, in an attempt to reawaken public interest
in space exploration. In October 2001, Musk traveled to Moscow with Jim Cantrell (an aerospace
supplies fixer), and Adeo Ressi (his best friend from college), to buy refurbished Dnepr
Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that could send the envisioned payloads into space.
The group met with companies such as NPO Lavochkin and Kosmotras; however, according to
Cantrell, Musk was seen as a novice and was consequently spat on by one of the Russian chief
designers. The group returned to the United States empty-handed. In February 2002, the group
returned to Russia to look for three ICBMs, bringing along Mike Griffin. Griffin had worked for
the CIA's venture capital arm, In-Q-Tel, as well as NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and was
just leaving Orbital Sciences, a maker of satellites and spacecraft. The group had another meeting
with Kosmotras and were offered one rocket for US$8 million. Musk considered the price too
high, and stormed out of the meeting. On the flight back from Moscow, Musk realized that he
could start a company that could build the affordable rockets he needed. According to early Tesla
and SpaceX investor Steve Jurvetson, Musk calculated that the raw materials for building a rocket
were only 3 percent of the sales price of a rocket at the time. It was concluded that, in theory, by
applying vertical integration and the modular approach employed in software engineering, SpaceX
could cut launch price by a factor of ten and still enjoy a 70-percent gross margin. Ultimately,
Musk ended up founding SpaceX with the long-term goal of creating a true spacefaring
civilization. With US$100 million of his early fortune, Musk founded Space Exploration
Technologies Corp., traded as SpaceX, in May 2002. Musk is chief executive officer (CEO) and
chief technology officer (CTO) of the Hawthorne, California-based company. By 2016, Musk's
private trust held 54% of SpaceX stock, equivalent to 78% of voting shares. SpaceX develops and
manufactures space launch vehicles with a focus on advancing the state of rocket technology. The
company's first two launch vehicles were the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 rockets (a nod to Star Wars'
Millennium Falcon), and its first spacecraft was the Dragon (a nod to Puff the Magic
Dragon).SpaceX designed a family of launch vehicles and the Dragon multipurpose spacecraft
over a span of seven years. In September 2008, SpaceX's Falcon 1 rocket became the first privately
funded liquid-fueled vehicle to put a satellite into Earth orbit.
  Tesla, Inc.
Tesla, Inc. (originally Tesla Motors) was incorporated in July 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc
Tarpenning, who financed the company until the Series A round of funding. Both men played
active roles in the company's early development prior to Elon Musk's involvement. Musk led the
Series A round of investment in February 2004, joining Tesla's board of directors as its chairman.
All three, along with J. B. Straubel, were inspired by the earlier AC Propulsion tzero electric
roadster prototype. Musk took an active role within the company and oversaw Roadster product
design at a detailed level, but was not deeply involved in day-to-day business operations.
Following the financial crisis in 2008 and after a series of escalating conflicts in 2007, Eberhard
was ousted from the firm. Musk assumed leadership of the company as CEO and product architect
in 2008, positions he still holds today. As of 2019, Elon Musk is the longest tenured CEO of any
automotive manufacturer globally.

 SolarCity
Musk provided the initial concept and financial capital for SolarCity, which was then co-founded
in 2006 by his cousins Lyndon and Peter Rive. By 2013, SolarCity was the second largest provider
of solar power systems in the United States. SolarCity was acquired by Tesla, Inc. in November
2016 and is currently a wholly owned subsidiary of Tesla. The underlying motivation for funding
both SolarCity and Tesla was to help combat global warming. In 2012, Musk announced that
SolarCity and Tesla would collaborate to use electric vehicle batteries to smooth the impact of
rooftop solar on the power grid, with the program going live in 2013. On June 17, 2014, Musk
committed to building a SolarCity advanced production facility in Buffalo, New York, that would
triple the size of the largest solar plant in the United States. Musk stated the plant will be "one of
the single largest solar panel production plants in the world," and it will be followed by one or
more even bigger facilities in subsequent years. The Tesla Gigafactory 2 is a photovoltaic (PV)
cell factory, leased by Tesla subsidiary SolarCity in Buffalo, New York. Construction on the
factory started in 2014 and was completed in 2017. Tesla accepted $750 million in public funds
from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo as part of the Buffalo Billion project—a plan to invest
money to help the economy of the Buffalo, New York area—to build the factory and infrastructure.

 Hyperloop
On August 12, 2013, Musk unveiled a concept for a high-speed transportation system
incorporating reduced-pressure tubes in which pressurized capsules ride on an air cushion driven
by linear induction motors and air compressors. The mechanism for releasing the concept was an
alpha-design document that, in addition to scoping out the technology, outlined a notional route
where such a transport system might be built: between the Greater Los Angeles Area and the San
Francisco Bay Area. After earlier envisioning Hyperloop, Musk assigned a dozen engineers from
Tesla and SpaceX who worked for nine months, establishing the conceptual foundations and
creating the designs for the transportation system. An early design for the system was then
published in a whitepaper posted to the Tesla and SpaceX blogs. Musk's proposal, if
technologically feasible at the costs he has cited, would make Hyperloop travel cheaper than any
other mode of transport for such long distances. The alpha design was proposed to use a partial
vacuum to reduce aerodynamic drag, which it is theorized would allow for high-speed travel with
relatively low power, with certain other features like air-bearing skis and an inlet compressor to
reduce freestream flow. The document of alpha design estimated the total cost of an LA-to-SF
Hyperloop system at US$6 billion, but this amount is speculative. In June 2015, Musk announced
a design competition for students and others to build Hyperloop pods to operate on a SpaceX-
sponsored mile-long track in a 2015–2017 Hyperloop pod competition. The track was used in
January 2017, and Musk also started building a tunnel. Hyperloop One, a company unaffiliated
with Musk, had announced that it had done its first successful test run on its DevLoop track in
Nevada on July 13, 2017. It was on May 12, 2017, at 12:02 a.m. and had lasted 5.3 seconds,
reaching a top speed of 70 mph. On July 20, 2017, Elon Musk said that he had received what he
described as "verbal government approval" to build a hyperloop from New York City to
Washington, D.C., stopping in both Philadelphia and Baltimore. He hasn't however received
formal approval yet.

 OpenAI
In December 2015, Musk announced the creation of OpenAI, a not-for-profit artificial intelligence
(AI) research company. OpenAI aims to develop artificial general intelligence in a way that is safe
and beneficial to humanity. By making AI available to everyone, OpenAI wants to "counteract
large corporations who may gain too much power by owning super-intelligence systems devoted
to profits, as well as governments which may use AI to gain power and even oppress their
citizenry." Musk has stated he wants to counteract the concentration of power.[38] In 2018 Musk
left the OpenAI board to avoid possible future conflicts with his role as CEO of Tesla as Tesla
increasingly became involved in AI through Tesla Autopilot. In an interview with Joe Rogan in
September 2018, Musk expressed his concerns about the dangers of developing artificial
intelligence indiscriminately. In January 2019 Mark Harris of The Guardian noted that on January
23, 2019 the Musk foundation "added a line to its website, stating its support for the "development
of safe artificial intelligence to benefit humanity"".

 Neuralink
In 2016, Musk co-founded Neuralink, a neurotechnology startup company to integrate the human
brain with artificial intelligence. The company is centered on creating devices that can be
implanted in the human brain, with the eventual purpose of helping human beings merge with
software and keep pace with advancements in artificial intelligence. These enhancements could
improve memory or allow more direct interfacing with computing devices. Musk sees Neuralink
and OpenAI as related: "OpenAI is a nonprofit dedicated to minimizing the dangers of artificial
intelligence, while Neuralink is working on ways to implant technology into our brains to create
mind-computer interfaces."

 The Boring Company

Musk discussing The Boring Company at TED 2017, On December 17, 2016, while stuck in
traffic, Musk tweeted "[I] am going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging ..." The
company was named 'The Boring Company' (TBC). On January 21, 2017, Musk tweeted "Exciting
progress on the tunnel front. Plan to start digging in a month or so." As of January 26, 2017,
discussions with regulatory bodies had begun. In February 2017, the company began digging a 30-
foot (9.1 m) wide, 50-foot (15 m) long, and 15-foot (4.6 m) deep "test trench" on the premises of
Space X's offices in Los Angeles, since the construction requires no permits. Musk had said in
early 2017 that a 10-fold decrease in tunnel boring cost per mile is necessary for economic
feasibility of the proposed tunnel network. The tunnel width is optimized for electric vehicles only,
which avoids complications of exhaust venting with internal combustion engines. By late 2018,
TBC had active construction, approved plans in place, or an operational tunnel in several areas of
the United States: Baltimore, Chicago and Los Angeles. TBC provided an update on the state of
their technology and product line when they opened to the public their first mile-long test tunnel
in Hawthorne, California, on December 18, 2018, saying it has been a proof-of-concept for the
technology. TBC has claimed that design is complete for their next tunnel boring machine (TBM),
Prufrock, and that assembly and engineering testing would begin in 2019.

 The Reason Why I Chosen the leader ELON MUSK for my assignment:
Referencing Elon Musk, a polymathic self-made billionaire, this essay will examine his leadership
styles in depth as well as evaluating an organizational issue whilst providing recommendations
as to how he could have better managed the situation. Subsequently, a self-reflection of the author
will provide insight into how an alternative leadership approach could aid or hinder Musk’s
decisions. Due to the complex nature of leaders it is rarely the case they display only one leadership
style, hence the complexity of Musk and other renowned leaders. To begin, one must probe into
the most prominent style. For Musk, transformational leadership as a trait based psychological
theory, is exemplified in his approach. Initially introduced by Burns (1978), as a polar opposite
concept to transactional leadership, his definition of “leaders and followers help each other
to advance to a high level of morale and motivation” (Burns, 1978) outlines the approach
that causes change in individuals and social systems. A more recent researcher, Bass (1985),
developed the concept further by clarifying the physiological elements of a transformational
leader. He outlines four major factors of this leadership style. It is proposed that Musk is a
quintessential model of a transformational leader displaying three of the four facets of the theory.
Firstly, idealized influence implies that the leader is a confident role model for their subordinates
(Judge & Piccolo, 2004). Such a role model demonstrates one of high ethical behavior
and provides a distinctive charisma in which followers can model themselves on in order to
achieve success. Following the failure of the launch of SpaceX Falcon 1 Rocket in mid-2008,
Musk gave a speech to his employees. A quote from the speech; “For my part, I will
never give up and I mean never” (Feloni, 2014) authenticates his confidence in his ideas and
his staff. Through the quote it highlights that money is no object to Musk and such idealized
attitude is an ability to transform and motivate followers and leads to reduced uncertainty for the
future.

The second element is inspiration motivation seen through leaders who Convey great expectations
to followers inspiring them to become Committed through motivation (Northouse, 2013).
Musk’s willingness to succeed through countless failures and setbacks provides a motivational
benchmark for employees to aspire to. Yammarino and Dubnisky (1994) outlines a
transformational leader as one who provides confidence, enthusiasm and optimism in order
to energies others which was proven in the case of Musk when his Space rocket finally succeeded
on the third attempt. A strong sense of purpose from followers is necessary in order to be
motivated to act which, in turn, comes from an appealing vision. In Musk’s example this stemmed
from working for an innovative, ethical and world-renowned firm.

Intellectual stimulation is a strength of Elon which is particularly prominent when

critically observing his character and business decisions. It is the extent to which a leader takes
risks, challenges the norm and transforms ideas of followers (Podsakoff et al., 1990). Initially
displayed when Musk invested his personal fortunes into industries which had seen little
investment and success in previous years, this later paid off when the SpaceX rocket triumphantly
took flight and Tesla Motors earnt Musk $630million in 2010 (Rivlin, 2012). A trait of a such
leader, claimed by Hartog et al (1997), is to encourage followers to question their own values,
assumptions and beliefs. Evident in the case of Musk’s followers, they are forced to change into a
true ethical advocate for the business to drive growth, encourage creativity and in the light of the
threat of losing their job (Silverstein, 2017). Musk’s passion for ethical businesses demonstrates a
distinction between a transformational leader and pseudo-transformational leaders, such as Adolf
Hilter, who rely on “coercive uses of power” to enforce changes in followers (Northouse, 2013,
p.201). Finally Judge & Piccolo (2004) define individualized consideration as the extent in which
the leader cares for the needs of the followers and their mentoring. It would appear Musk
doesn’t display much evidence of coaching towards employees as his personal greed
for success, overworking of staff and verbal abuse to the work force published in the media,
suggests otherwise (Carrie-Wong, 2017). Although previous disagreement of an pseudo-
transformational style shown by Musk was discussed, this specific situation indicates an
exposure of an autocratic leadership style. Even though one might presume that Musk’s underlying
ethical behavior helps differentiate him from a pseudo-transformational leader with an autocratic
style, for Musk to be labelled as a leader with individualized consideration he must care for his
employees’ needs on the same level as goal achievement but this is not the case.

An autocratic leader was one of three leadership styles developed by psychologist Kurt
Lewin (1939). It displays an authoritarian nature allowing little input from the group
and is characterized by exerting influence and control over followers (Northouse, 2013). One
characteristic of an autocratic leader that can be identified within Musk is dominance of decisions
(Vroom and Yetton, 1973). Although both Tesla and SpaceX employ individuals with
years of experience and in-depth knowledge within their field (Jackson, 2017) this doesn’t
stop Musk from granting them little control over decisions and practices. Such abuse
of the autocratic style of leadership can be problematic within a work place, mainly
because the leader is often viewed as bossy, controlling and dictatorial creating
resentment amongst staff. By probing into the style of leadership performed by Elon
Musk, it uncovers a range of approaches adopted by the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX in different
situations. Although transformational leadership stands at the forefront of how Musk and his
teams have achieved great success in revolutionizing industries, we should not forget the
evidence of alternative theories in his work. One which is highly relative to Musk is innovative
leadership. As a product of path-goal theory and leader-member exchange theory (Basu
& Green, 1997), innovative leadership portrays leaders such as Elon Musk as people
who are creative visionaries individuals, resentment has formed as a result of trust deficiency
in the workplace. Adopting a democratic style alongside his current transformational
approach will create lower absenteeism among employees, consequently resulting in stronger
commitment and ultimately benefiting the success of Musk’s businesses: Tesla and SpaceX.
The theory displays evidence that if this style was adopted Musk would allow more input from his
qualified team yet still retaining control over the final decision (Lewin & Lippitt, 1938). By
delegating control to his subordinates, this could allow Musk to focus on the innovation and ideas
rather than the monotonous daily tasks. On the other hand, the theory has been criticised for
slowing down the process of decision making (Feldman et al., 2011) which in Musk’s case could
immensely hinder his success and productivity. His continuous dedication and drive led
to the triumphant success of his SpaceX rocket orbiting on the third attempt. Yet slower
decisions may have had an impact on his inspirational motivation thus halting the successful
orbit. In addition, democratic leaders can often become overly dependent on the expertise of
their subordinates if too much control is assigned (Nanjundeswaraswamy & Swamy,
2014), this would be particularly damaging for Musk as his unique and innovative
perspective could be negatively affected, threatening the success in his specified industries. This
essay concludes that Elon Musk, the mastermind behind Paypal, Tesla and SpaceX,
possesses a mainly transformational style of leadership. He displays three of the four facets
of the theory defined by Bass to summarize a leader with a transformational style. Yet,
Musk’s autocratic style arose as prominent as a result of little evidence to align him with the final
element of Bass’s theory: individualized consideration. His lack of delegation to staff and apparent
assertive power outlines a negative component of the leadership style adopted by Musk.
Finally, despite his forceful nature outlined in his autocratic style, his success can be attributed
to the innovative leadership approach he practices. His creative and intricate ideas
alongside the strong organizational culture helps him to stand at the forefront of the industry in
term of success. Furthermore, the safety of factory workers in the Fremont Tesla factory in
California was identified as an issue for Musk which could have been prevented.
Suggestions on an organizational level, include the rebalance of ethical considerations for both
internal and external stakeholders as well as the need to address the egoistic hedonist nature within
Tesla. In regard to a personal perspective, Elon is recommended to increase the level of emotional
intelligence he possesses in order to build compassion and improve honesty. Finally, the
democratic style of the reader provided examples of how an alternative style of leadership could
both aid and hinder Musk in different scenarios.

 Important Functions Of Leadership for Management

Leadership is an important function of management which helps to maximize efficiency and to
achieve organizational goals. The following points justify the importance of leadership in a
concern.
 Initiates action- Leader is a person who starts the work by communicating the policies
and plans to the subordinates from where the work actually starts.
 Motivation- A leader proves to be playing an incentive role in the concern’s working. He
motivates the employees with economic and non-economic rewards and thereby gets the
work from the subordinates.
 Providing guidance- A leader has to not only supervise but also play a guiding role for
the subordinates. Guidance here means instructing the subordinates the way they have to
perform their work effectively and efficiently.
 Creating confidence- Confidence is an important factor which can be achieved through
expressing the work efforts to the subordinates, explaining them clearly their role and
giving them guidelines to achieve the goals effectively. It is also important to hear the
employees with regards to their complaints and problems.
 Building morale- Morale denotes willing co-operation of the employees towards their
work and getting them into confidence and winning their trust. A leader can be a morale
booster by achieving full co-operation so that they perform with best of their abilities as
they work to achieve goals.
 Builds work environment- Management is getting things done from people. An efficient
work environment helps in sound and stable growth. Therefore, human relations should be
 kept into mind by a leader. He should have personal contacts with employees and should
listen to their problems and solve them. He should treat employees on humanitarian terms.
 Co-ordination- Co-ordination can be achieved through reconciling personal interests with
organizational goals. This synchronization can be achieved through proper and effective
co-ordination which should be primary motive of a leader.

 Elon Musk's Entrepreneurial Traits

Elon Musk is widely admired for visible entrepreneurship. While there are lots of impressive
leaders, few touch his superhero scale. Some of Musk's characteristics are by chance--like being
an immigrant from Africa. (Just think about that next time you're voting on immigration policies.)
Or having parents who divorced when he was nine. Or having a family that could afford top
education. Many of Musk's most entrepreneurial characteristics, however, are behavior choices
within your own control. So what are those elements of his secret sauce?
 Imagination: As a child in Africa, he read about the United States in comic books, and set
his mind on coming. In college, he became convinced there were three areas that would
most change the future of the world for good: the Internet, sustainable energy, and the
ability to live outside our planet. He has stayed true to these dreams.
 Persistence: When you're disrupting systems, building new infrastructure is a painful
process of two steps forward, one stumble back. For example, this video captures four years
of exhilarating take offs and brutal crashes of SpaceX's Falcon 9. Musk exercises persistent
in more mundane matters as well. For example, in February of this year, after more than a
decade, he finally got the Tesla.com domain. Before this year, his car company had to park
at TeslaMotors.com. (Related: 10 Natural Ways To Boost Your Confidence)
 Systems disruption: When Musk first practiced his entrepreneurship, his explorations
were less spectacular than space flight disruption. In fact, his first few businesses were a
lot like other businesses: a computer game, a nightclub, and an online tourism guide. The
sale of that guide, Zip2, provided him his first significant capital, which he invested the
very next month into the company that became Paypal.
 Commitment: The fourth behavior trait you'll see again and again in Musk is his depth of
commitment. A widely cited example of this is his compensation plan at Tesla, which
eschews most salary and all cash bonuses, and pays Musk in stock options that vest only
as Tesla meets operational goals set by the board. You can also see commitment in how
Musk handles backlash. Consider the past hullabaloo over Tesla fires. While Musk was
quite confidence in Tesla's safety in a blog post he wrote about Tesla safety, he took action
anyway and amended the Tesla warranty to cover fire damage even if it were caused by
driver error.
  Leadership Qualities of Elon Musk that We Admire
We’ve recently launched the BluePointe Capital Technology Entrepreneur of the Year Award to
honor the brilliant creators who are changing society for the better. As part of this initiative, we’re
taking a closer look at the people and leaders who we feel embody the values that our award is
based upon. In this segment we’re looking at Elon Musk, the creator of brands such as PayPal,
SpaceX, and Tesla. The values that our award is based upon are as follows:
 Entrepreneurial Spirit
 Passion for Innovation
 Positive Energy
 Strategic Direction
 Personal Integrity/Influence

Entrepreneurial Spirit
Embodies commitment, vision, calculated risk-taking and capacity for personal growth.
Demonstrates perseverance in the face of adversity and to overcoming obstacles. Has learned from
disappointing experiences. Relies on trusted individuals while showing ability to be an
independent thinker and take risks in the face of uncertainty. The reason that we feel Elon Musk
is an outstanding example of the entrepreneurial spirit is his ability to overcoming disappointment.
He has had many failures in the course of his career, ranging from mechanical failures in his Tesla
brand to rockets crashing. SpaceX almost went bankrupt. What’s remarkable about Musk is that
he never lets it stop him from fighting through and progressing. He views these as experiments
that didn’t work out and simply moves on to the next step.

Positive Energy:
Employees, colleagues, customers, and investors should feel energized being around a leader.
Musk is highly charismatic with a positive outlook and optimism for a better future. This is
inspirational and indubitably it has allowed him to persist through highly challenging
circumstances in his businesses.

Passion for Innovation:

Here is how we would define a leader with a passion for innovation. Pioneers a new approach or
technology. Recognizes business imperative of anticipating and embracing changes occurring in
the competitive environment through continuous improvement in all aspects of the business.
Creates a culture of innovation. Inspires others to keep up with the pace of change instead of
staying with a day-late idea. Many people would consider Musk to be the most innovative
entrepreneur of our time. What’s amazing about him is that he seems to believe that there is an
innovation to solve every problem that arises. He sees problems as opportunities and that is what
has led him to his success.

Strategic Direction:
Creates and turns vision into business realities. Builds and rebuilds the team’s commitment to the
common goals. Demonstrates entrepreneurial maturity by building strategic alliances and
surrounding him/herself with talented people—individuals, teams, the Board, and a range of
advisers/allies to ensure success for all. 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.
Personal Integrity/Influence:
Leads by example. Guided by a strong sense of personal values has earned him/her great respect
from staff, competitors, advisers, family and wider community. 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’s on a mission to save humanity.

 Top 10 in Leadership from Elon Musk

Lesson #1: Lead by Example

“If you’re co-founder or CEO you have to do all kinds of tasks you might not want to do … If you
don’t do your chores, the company won’t succeed … Elon Musk No task is too menial.” – Elon
Musk “Just work like hell. If other people are putting in 40 hour work weeks and you’re putting in
100 hour work weeks, even if you’re doing the same thing, you know that you will achieve in four
months what it takes them a year to achieve.”- Elon Musk One thing we all control is our own
effort. Elon Musk realizes that his thoughts will only change the world if implemented and
executed upon. He is known for his tenacious work ethic to see through his visions. Elon Musk,
Lessons on Leadership
Lesson #2: Lead with Purpose
“You have to have a very compelling goal for the company. If you put yourself in the shoes of
someone who’s talented at a world level, they have to believe that there’s potential for a great
outcome and believe in the leader of the company, that you’re the right guy to work with. That can
be a difficult thing, especially if you’re trying to attract people from other companies.”- Elon Musk
Elon’s purpose is simple. He is determined to revolutionize three industries. He has said that he
didn’t start Space X because he thought building rocket ships were going to be great for his
portfolio; Space X is his way of making his mark on the world. No matter what the goal, leaders
must develop a vision for where they would like to be and work until they reach their destination.
In Elon’s case, that place is Mars.

Lesson #3: Be Creative

“The problem is that at a lot of big companies, the process becomes a substitute for thinking.
You’re encouraged to behave like a little gear in a complex machine. Frankly, it allows you to
keep people who aren’t that smart, who aren’t that creative.”- Elon Musk Elon Musk believes that
process prohibits the ability for innovation to take place. In many cases, continued formal
education can be a negative because it denies creativity. Without creativity, progress and
innovation are impossible.

Lesson #4: Be Collaborative

“Talent is extremely important. It’s like a sports team, the team that has the best individual player
will often win but then there’s a multiplier from how those players work together and the strategy
they employ.”- Elon Musk Musk understands that teamwork is a necessity for any team or business
to succeed. It is integral to employ a team that operates in a cohesive and team-oriented fashion.
This sense of pride in team success has to start with the leadership. Elon Musk leads by “doing”
more than “telling”. Set an example that inspires your team to succeed as one.
Lesson #5: Encourage Innovation
“Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.”- Elon Musk
At Space X, their first 3 launches failed. Musk took that as an opportunity to learn and innovate.
If someone is confined to the walls of which process does not allow expansion, innovation is
impossible. Elon Musk enables and encourages employees to step out of the “traditional” way of
thinking and to put all new ideas forth.

Lesson #6: Be Decisive

“Without decisive action to lay the groundwork today, the massive volume of affordable, high-
efficiency panels needed for unsubsidized solar power to outcompete fossil fuel grid power simply
will not be there when it is needed,”- Elon Musk Unless you commit to acting in the present, the
change you want will never happen in the future. Elon Musk finds out what he wants and then acts
on his ideas. Strategy and action lead to results.

Lesson #7: Be Comfortable with Change

On being a CEO, “it’s eating glass and staring into the abyss”- Elon Musk You never know which
challenges are going to arise. Successful leaders are able to adapt in any situation and continue
pushing forward towards their team’s goals. Whatever comes their way, they understand how to
enable their teams to leverage their strengths to find solutions and innovate.

Lesson #8: Hire Carefully

“I think you definitely don’t want to grow too fast. Make sure that every person you hire, you
really need to hire that person.” – Elon Musk Don’t hire just for the sake of filling a position. Make
sure you hire the right person the first time. Effective leaders add people because they are going
to help them succeed; not to fill a vacancy. Assessments like the Predictive Index Behavioural
Assessment® and the PI Cognitive Assessment® can be leveraged to assess if a candidate has the
appropriate behavioural drives and mental agility to succeed in the role.

Lesson #9: Set Exceptionally High Standards

“The number one issue for me is finding superlatively talented people. I think we’ve been fortunate
to find some very, very talented people at SpaceX, but that is always the governor on growth.”-
Elon Musk It is common knowledge that acquiring talent is one of the single most prevalent
business challenges for leaders. What do you do to invest in your managers once you find the best
people? The job isn’t done once you find and acquire top talent. The best leaders are self-aware.
Gifted leaders understand the power of adjusting their behaviours and leadership style to inspire
their people.

Lesson #10: Put the Right People in the Right Role

“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.”- Elon Musk Successful leaders set their people up for success. They do
not try to force square pegs into round holes. If you want to get the most out of your team, put
them in roles that are natural to their behavioural drives. If you try to turn your employees into
something they are not, you will lose talent. If people are happy and energetic in their roles, they
are going to want to company to succeed. Want to learn more about how 30% of today’s best-
managed companies are using systems like the Predictive Index and Professional Learning
Indicator to get the right people in the right roles, prepare teams for change, succession plan and
develop gifted leaders.
  Conclusion
An effective leader must have character, competence, compassion, and courage. Despite the
influence of leadership in our lives, it remains poorly understood by most of us. This review defines
leadership as "a combination of position, responsibilities, attitude, skills, and behaviors that allows
someone to bring out the best in others, and the best in their organization, in a sustainable manner."
There are many traits and skills demonstrated by leaders. These include talent, drive, willpower,
practical wisdom, loyalty, ethical behavior, emotional intelligence, integrity, self-awareness, and
resilience. However, to best understand leadership we focus on what leaders are actually required
to do, rather than on the skills and traits used to accomplish these tasks. We review nine functions
that are at the core of leadership: serve as the public face of the organization; articulate the vision
and mission; create culture; strategic planning; decide what to focus on; select, and develop, the
right people; establish a decision-making process; manage your boss; and be responsible 24/7. All
leaders operate in a specific context, during a unique point in the history of their organization, with
a unique set of circumstances. What is required of the leader in one set of circumstances will
change as those circumstances change. If the leader understands her core responsibilities, and if
she develops the people, culture, and processes necessary to deal with a changing environment,
she will have the self-awareness and support necessary to continue to lead successfully.
Characteristics are the components of one’s personality that gives them the capability to
successfully lead a group of people in the right direction. Character allows you to make the right
choices. This is done by people applying their leadership attributes. Leaders create commitment
and enthusiasm amongst followers to achieve goals. Leaders are born, not made.
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