What is the Elon Musk leadership style (and should you use …

Its not hard to think of well-known, visionary leaders of the past few decades. Steve Jobs. Sheryl Sandberg. Bill Gates. Warren Buffett. Oprah Winfrey.

However, theres no denying that Elon Musk deserves a spot near the top of that list.

Hes founded some of the most innovative companies in the world, including X.com (which later became PayPal), SpaceX, and Tesla Motors. If that doesnt keep him busy enough, hes also founded lesser-known companies like Neuralink (a neurotechnology company) and The Boring Company (focused on infrastructure and tunnels for transportation).

With such a long list of businesses and achievements under his belt, its no wonder that Elon Musks leadership style has become an area of interest and fascination. He has a reputation as being equal parts genius and workaholic, and employees are quick to admit that working for him is simultaneously challenging and rewarding.

"He's highly intelligent. He's already 10 steps ahead of you," a former manager at Tesla told Business Insider. "You have to think 10 times more audacious than he does to be able to be successful."

"I feel like I'm 10 times smarter now than when I first joined," a different senior-level employee added.

So, like any leadership style, the Elon Musk leadership styleapproach comes with some distinct benefits and drawbacks. Were digging into the details of the leadership style of Elon Musk, and what you can learn from his groundbreaking career.

Lets get academic for a second. When you think about the defined leadership styles, Elon Musks style is best defined as transformational.

He believes theres a better way to do everything, and he sets his sights on constant improvement. He has big ideas and wants to unite his team around his (sometimes outrageous) vision and objectives.

From running an aerospace company that manufactures rockets and other spacecraft to disrupting the electric car market, it only makes sense that a core pillar of Musks approach involves out-of-the-box ideas.

Now that you have a high-level overview of how Musk prefers to run his teams and companies, lets dig into the details.

Were breaking down five of the most important elements of the Elon Muskleadership style, as well as how those relate to different Fingerprint for Success motivations.

Elon Musk quote: Other advice I would give is to not blindly follow trends. Question and challenge the status quo. 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.

Relevant F4S motivations: alternatives, difference, evolution, future, indifference

He builds rockets, disrupts the automotive industry, and has his sights set on colonizing Mars. To say Musk is innovative would be an understatement.

Hes known for being bold with an eye to the future. And, he expects each and every one of his team members to innovate alongside him. Musks grandiose view and ambitious goals can be intimidating, but awe-inspiring all the same.

Most of us cant conceive these things working; he cant conceive it failing. Period, said Jim Cantrell, the first engineer at SpaceX.

Needless to say, when you work under Elon Musk, you wont rely on existing procedures and a weve always done it this way attitude. Youll be expected to think bigand quickly turn those ideas into action.

Elon Musk quote: The problem is that at a lot of big companies, process becomes a substitute for thinking. Youre encouraged to behave like a little gear in a complex machine. Frankly, it allows you to keep people who arent that smart, who arent that creative.

Relevant F4S motivations: internal reference, indifference, alternatives, low focus on procedures

Many former and current employees admit that working for Musk is rigorous and demanding, yet many point to it as a formative experience in their careers.

Theres a reason for that: Musk is a highly-inspiring leader. While some of his ideas are unattainable, he has the ability to get people excited about his ambitions, projects, and plans.

The thing that makes Elon Elon is his ability to make people believe in his vision, said Dolly Singh, the former HR head at SpaceX.

Musk is also said to have contagious enthusiasm and energy for his work, which means employees often share his commitment and passion for pursuing their next big idea or source of inspiration.

Elon Musk quote: Patience is a virtue, and Im learning patience. Its a tough lesson.

Relevant F4S motivations: activity, automatic, initiation

Another word thats often used to describe Musk? Erratic. Hes known for being opinionated and occasionally even short-tempered, and has gone off on his fair share of rants on Twitter.

His seeming lack of impulse control has gotten him into some hot water every now and then, but it also enables him to move quickly in his businessesto jump on ideas and nuggets of inspiration without stifling the flame with too much strategy and detail work.

His fast-acting nature offers some benefits in terms of business growth and innovation, but they can also serve as a point of frustration for his team.

As Fast Company reported, An engineer might spend nine months working 100 hours a week on something because Musk has pushed him to, and then out of nowhere Musk will change his mind and scrap the project.

Elon Musk quote: I always have optimism, but Im realistic. It was not with the expectation of great success that I started Tesla or SpaceX. Its just that I thought they were important enough to do anyway.

Relevant F4S motivations: achievement, goal orientation, future, present

You dont become a billionaire without a hefty dose of drive and ambition, and Musk is no exception. Hes known for setting aggressiveand sometimes even seemingly impossiblegoals for his teams and employees.

When Elon says something, you have to pause and not blurt out, Well, thats impossible. You zip it, you think about it, and you find ways to get it done, said Gwynne Shotwell, the President and Chief Operating Officer of SpaceX. Ive always felt like my job was to take these ideas and turn them into company goals, to make them achievable.

While Musk sets a high bar, he also recognizes that his team needs a high degree of psychological safety in order to pursue those stretch goals. Failure is an option here, hes quoted as saying. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.

Elon Musk quote: Work like hell. I mean you just have to put in 80 to 100 hour weeks every week. [This] improves the odds of success. If other people are putting in 40-hour workweeks and youre putting in 100-hour workweeks, then even if youre doing the same thing, you know that you will achieve in four months what it takes them a year to achieve.

Relevant F4S motivations: depth, doing, internal reference, activity, use, place

There are plenty of legends and tall tales about Musks obsessive personality and workaholic tendencies. Hes been said to sleep on a couch in the Tesla factory and work 80 to 90 hours each week (sometimes even more).

I have OCD on product-related issues, he said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. I always see whats...wrong. Would you want that? When I see a car or a rocket or spacecraft, I only see whats wrong. I never see whats right. Its not a recipe for happiness.

That means he can be a bit of a micromanageror even a nanomanager as Musk described himself in that same conversation with the Wall Street Journal.

Elon Musk is a complex person, and his leadership style has its intricacies too. In many ways, hes exhilarating and motivating. In other ways, hes demanding and intimidating.

Like any other leader, his approach has its upsides and downsidesand theres plenty to be learned from the way he leads the charge for his employees and numerous companies, including the following lessons:

Elon Musk is by no means a perfect leader, and really, theres no such thing.

But, with numerous successful companies on his resume and a reputation for developing some of the most groundbreaking products and technologies on the market today, hes definitely a leader worth examiningbut not necessarily emulating.

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What is the Elon Musk leadership style (and should you use ...