7
Elon Musk’s Leadership in Organizations
Artifact 3
September 26, 2021
Visionary and problem-solver
Leadership is about having an outstanding vision that others appreciate and want to contribute to accomplishing. A visionary leader sees far beyond the ordinary borders of success. Therefore, such leaders are energetic and inspire others to follow them. Another essential element of leadership is problem-solving. Problem solvers can identify challenges affecting their personal lives. Likewise, the leaders recognize the setbacks preventing their organizations from achieving goals. The recognition of the problems prompts the leaders to find practical and permanent solutions. The leaders must be collaborative and seek inspiration from others to mitigate emerging issues. Elon Musk is a visionary leader and a problem solver. Musk focuses on innovations, investments, and business ventures. Also, Musk is the founder of PayPal, Space X and a significant shareholder in Tesla Motors. Management and participative leadership theories are the rational choices to describe Musk because they capture his visionary and problem-solving traits.
Visionary Leadership
A visionary leader perceives the potentials the future holds for the current generation and those coming after. The leader plans how to move towards the conceived vision. The leaders inspire and influence others to follow them once the concrete plans are in place (Indeed Editorial Team, 2020). Such leaders are inclined to take risks because they know the benefits accompanying their endeavors. The leaders are innovative and communicate what they want with efficiency. One undeniable fact about visionary leaders is they are bold and persistent (Indeed Editorial Team, 2020). Elon Musk fits all the descriptions of innovative leaders. Musk is one of the daring leaders the 21-century world has had. Musk tends to present to the world new ideas fitting the current global needs. For example, PayPal has enabled millions of individuals to transact with each other, regardless of their global location (Ian, 2021). Such innovations would be impossible if Musk is not a visionary leader.
Problem-Solving Leadership
Problem-solvers are not afraid to identify challenges affecting their personal life and organizations. The leaders want to know where the problem is coming from and work towards mitigating it. Thus, the leaders communicate with everyone in their organizations and personal life to gather all essential details. The leaders start planning for solutions. When the leaders have a distinct understanding of the situation, they invite others (The Complete Leader, 2019). The leaders are efficient communicators and collaborators. The qualities expedite the leaders to influence others to solve the issues affecting them. Elon Musk is a problem-solver because he has identified many of the challenges of the current world. Musk has communicated he is planning to establish residential on Mars through his Space x projects (Ian, 2021). Musk believes the project will contribute to the better management of the ballooning global population. The solution may seem somehow exaggerated, but based on the track record of Musk, he can accomplish it.
Musk’s Organizational Challenges
Elon Musk is a determined and courageous leader. He has encountered numerous personal and organizational problems. However, Musk is resilient and does not like giving up when he can envision the benefits of his endeavors. Musk once applied to Netscape to accommodate him to work on his technological vision (Ian, 2021). The company did not consider Musk and had to reject his application. Musk did not lose hope because he started his company that he named Zip2. The organization offered online phonebook services (Edmondson, 2018). However, the company did not succeed as Musk had expected, and he had to keep on trying other means to accomplish his goals. The reason for the failure of Zip2 in the initial phases was a lack of finances. Investors did not perceive the benefits the organization would fetch for them (Ian, 2021). Therefore, investors ignored Musk and continued to invest in the most promising ventures.
Musk believed he could introduce new services that could solve the challenges the world encountered. Musk introduced PayPal and promised the masses it would transform how they do business and transact. However, Musk faced rejection and mockery because people could not perceive how the service would benefit them (Edmondson, 2018). Musk was used to rejections like in Netscape and being ousted from Zip2 Company as the CEO. Therefore, Musk ignored his opponents and focused on creating PayPal (Ian, 2021). The money service is one of the leading online platforms that allow individuals and organizations to transact. Noteworthy, PayPal stakeholders had ousted Elon Musk during his honeymoon with his wife (Edmondson, 2018). Besides the illustrated challenges, Musk has had to work extra hard to build Tesla Inc. and Space x. The two organizations have undergone some of the worst business situations (Ian, 2021). However, Musk is determined to accomplish his goals.
Musk believed the exploration of outer space would be successful from the beginning. Nevertheless, Musk recorded significant losses for the three initial trails to land on Mars. The first spaceship left the earth, but it exploded before accomplishing the mission (Ian, 2021). It was the same case for the second spaceship because it caught fire and exploded as well. The third attempt involved the failure of the spaceship to accomplish the mission even with the help of NASA satellites embedded in it (Edmondson, 2018). To a majority of human beings, such losses would be enough for them to quit. Others can quit, but Musk is willing to pay every price to achieve his wild goals. Tesla Inc. underwent similar challenges because cars like Tesla Model S had a battery explosion (Ian, 2021). The many challenges Musk faces empower him to be willing to be a visionary leader and a problem solver.
Participative Leadership Theory
The participative model allows the leader to be on the higher hierarchy when stakeholders make decisions. The approach encourages the input of everyone, but the leader has the final contribution on the direction the company should take (Cherry, 2019). It is a practical model because it permits shareholders to provide their input. Equally, the leader has to offer guidance on what to do. It is the perfect model for a visionary leader like Elon Musk. The leader allows organizational members to contribute to what the organizations should do to accomplish targets. However, Musk decides what his organizations should adopt (Edmondson, 2018). Musk has experienced many challenges, meaning it would be unwise to permit everyone to make the final judgment. Participative leadership has enabled Musk and his team to continue supporting the growth of Space X, Tesla Inc., PayPal, and many other business ventures.
Management Theories
The management model focuses on the supervision and organization of company stakeholders. Also, the theory accounts for the team formation and organization to realize objectives. The inherent features of the management model or transactional theories are reward and penalties (Cherry, 2019). Leaders reward their workers if they prove unequal effort in accomplishing goals. Similarly, leaders penalize their workers if they fail to meet the targets. Musk relies on the model because he is perfect in supervising his organizational employees. At the same time, Musk utilizes the model to appeal for investments in his companies. Musk does so by organizing his companies to meet the investment standards valued by investors (Edmondson, 2018). For example, Musk planned how Space x could land spaceships on Mars.
The leader created the team to land the object in the outer world. Such organizations convinced investors to invest in the project (Ian, 2021). Thus, the management model offers Musk room to apply his problem-solving skills. The challenges Musk has encountered require him to capitalize on management theory. The leader should reward achievers as his success has taught them. Equally, Musk should punish failure. No time has Musk ever gained because of failure apart from learning from it (Edmondson, 2018). However, Musk must be careful to consider losses or failures resulting from unpredictable and inevitable circumstances rather than negligence.
Musk has a bright future because his innovations are transforming the world more than people had anticipated. Musk is a visionary leader who perceives a better future with mitigated global economic and social problems. The vision has made Musk a problem-solver willing to risk everything for the globe to be a better place to live. Musk accomplishes his goals because he relies on the participative leadership model. Musk accommodates the input of others but has the final contribution concerning the direction his companies take. Management theory allows Musk to reward success and discourage failure.
References
Cherry, K. (2019, November 7). The Major Leadership Theories. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/leadership-theories-2795323
Edmondson, B. T. (2018, May 25). The Elon Musk Way of Persevering in the Face of Adversity. Entrepreneur. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/313333
Ian. (2021, August 7). The 5 Failures of Elon Musk and How He Overcame Them. Pressfarm. https://press.farm/the-5-failures-of-elon-musk-and-how-he-overcame-them/
Indeed Editorial Team. (2020, December 3). 14 Traits of Visionary Leaders. Indeed Career Guide. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/traits-of-visionary-leadership
The Complete Leader. (2019, January 27). Problem Solving Ability. https://thecompleteleader.org/problem-solving-ability#::text