When we think of effective leadership traits, we immediately gravitate towards such traits as intelligence, sociability, and integrity. Elon Musk, billionaire chief executive officer for Tesla and SolarCity, is popularizing two less known traits of effective leadership: being opinionated and adaptable.
Being strong in conviction (i.e., opinionated) and adaptable are important traits for effective leaders, however they are also double-edged swords. Having conviction, and being passionate, are part of what make followers flock to leaders. Adaptability is important in our current global environment, in which technology and pace of work are constantly in flux. But, when these two qualities mix, it is not always a happy marriage.
According to a recent Business Insider article, when asked about working for Tesla, one former employee was quoted as saying, “It was incredible… I’d never work there again.” Ironically, Musk’s opinionated manner and adaptability are the very reason employees both love working for him, but would not do it over again. Musk is persuasive in his opinions, eliciting excitement and grabbing attention. Unfortunately, the article hits the nail on the head: “The problem with opinionated leaders is that even the smartest people get things wrong.” For employees under Musk, this could mean switching course after spending tireless hours for weeks on end focusing on a specific project—ultimately the project gets scrapped. Impulsiveness and adaptability are an even more dangerous combination, especially when followers feel their efforts are for not.
One could say adaptability is an off-shoot of self-confidence. According to Northouse (2013), self-confidence “is the ability to be certain about one’s competencies and skills” (p. 24). It takes a certain amount of self-confidence to know when one of your projects simply won’t work, despite efforts being put into it. It also takes a certain amount of self-awareness, and even organizational-awareness, to know when to move on to the next thing.
For Musk, however, his power of opinion and adaptability are not the only traits that allow him to be a successful leader and businessman. For one, Musk’s intelligence and vision rival that of former Apple tycoon, Steve Jobs. Musk is also not against testing the status quo: he is trying to change the face of the automobile industry by providing different ways, beyond standard car dealerships, to make Tesla products available to the general public. Taking on, and changing, an entire industry takes a great deal of determination.
Knowing Musk has a history of canceling projects, would you work for him? If so, do his other effective leadership traits outweigh his strong convictions and adaptability—or are these the traits that do, in fact, make him an effective leader?
Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage Publications. 27.
Snow, S. (2015). Elon Musk embodies 2 surprising traits of highly effective leaders. Business Insider. [Article]. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/the-counterintuitive-personality-traits-of-exceptional-leaders-2015-6.
Kaitlin Marie Kodack says
Working together with some people create a love-hate relationship. The fact that they enjoyed working with him and didn’t want to work with him again is quite the opposite response that I was expecting.
Being adaptable I can see as a trait of leadership, but not so much opinionated. Being opinionated can hurt people’s feelings and make a person look bad. I would have loved to learn more about Mr. Musk and how he handles everyday situations.
jbh5133 says
I have not experienced Transformational Leadership. I don’t think we have enough leaders like the one you had in today’s society. It seems like you had a great experience and your corporation really chose the right leader to help everyone in the organization.