Table of Contents
Introduction
I used the Leadership Self-Assessment and the Clifton StrengthsFinder to uncover my leadership skills. Self-assessments help promote self-awareness and gain new perspectives. This paper discusses my strengths and weaknesses as a leader, as well as my leadership style and what motivates me. My strengths and weaknesses are then compared to those of my chosen leader, Elon Musk. Through careful research, I have identified Musk’s leadership and management style and how it has changed throughout the years in his various entrepreneurial roles.
Self-Assessment: Results
The self-assessment, “Readiness for the Leadership Role” suggested that my leadership preparedness score is 84, indicating moderate readiness for a leadership role (Dubrin, 2015). It is important to realize what my strengths are so that I can use those strengths to overcome my weaknesses as a leader. My top leadership strengths include communication, creativity, and vision, and my leadership skills that need improvement include resolving conflicts and delegating tasks. It is vital to see weaknesses as an area to improve upon, and not something lacking since many of these skills can be developed with practice.
The second assessment, “The Clifton StrengthsFinder Assessment” indicated that my top five strengths are empathy, learner, intellection, input, and connectedness. Empathy and connectedness relate to the relationship-building theme. Empathetic leaders can identify with and care about others on a deeper level. Having empathy as a leader builds trust with other employees and opens the door to effective communication. Learner, intellection, and input are related to the strategic thinking theme. Strategic thinking involves thoughtfully planning and analyzing information that advises better decision making. According to the assessment, I did not have strengths that relate to the executing theme or the influencing theme. Executing and influencing strengths are important for getting tasks done quickly and effectively, in other words, leaders with these skills can get things done and successfully motivate others (Clifton StrengthsFinder, 2020).
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Good leaders communicate concisely and clearly by relaying their message in a simplified and purposeful way so that employees can distinctly understand what is being asked of them. Effective communicators are also good listeners. Being a good listener is useful in gaining an understanding of the employee’s thoughts and feelings. As a leader, you need to be able to put your own biases aside to truly understand other points of view. Effective communication is also about understanding different styles of communication and knowing which styles are appropriate for your team and the situation at hand (Reference, 2020). Having a team that communicates effectively will help build stronger relationships within the organization. I have always considered myself a good listener, in both my work and personal life. I use my listening skills coupled with my empathetic nature to understand the emotions and concerns that people have and I try to always look at the situation from another perspective. Being a good communicator has shown people that I am trustworthy and that they can feel comfortable coming to me with their questions or concerns.
Creativity is the ability to think and solve problems outside the box. Creativity is a critical leadership skill because it promotes growth and new opportunities (Doyle, 2019). In a world that is ever-changing, creativity and innovation are necessary for organizations to succeed. At work, I approach problems in non-traditional ways, which has made me a better problem solver. I work in a field where creativity is essential, and I am surrounded by creative minds every day. For example, as a data analyst, I look for patterns that may not always be obvious and then use those patterns to enhance the organizations’ marketing strategy.
Developing a captivating shared vision is a good way to get people focused on common goals, and working together to accomplish them (Thompson, 2017). Captivating visions drive motivation and inspire organizations and the people working in them. It is difficult to lead without a vision because people will be working towards different goals and motivations. A vision is even more effective if it is for the good of others, such as a whole society or community. I am most motivated when I have a vision of what I want to accomplish and I understand what it is going to take to get there. I have always been a meticulous planner, so understanding the necessary steps that need to be taken to achieve my vision keeps me motivated and allows me to clearly articulate what I need from others to make it happen.
Leaders need to know how to effectively resolve workplace conflicts. This is something I have not had experience with yet in my career, however, I have dealt with it in my personal life. At work, I tend to worry more about being well-liked and that prevents me from being confrontational. The same goes for my personal life. I rarely confront people when I have an issue and I will avoid all conflict if possible. When conflicts go unresolved, the workplace can become a toxic environment that can become negative and unproductive. There are helpful tactics for confronting conflicts, such as knowing the right timing, understanding your boundaries, and respecting people’s differences (Llopis, 2014). With practice, using the leadership qualities I already possess, such as communication and empathy, I can work on becoming better at resolving conflicts at work and in other aspects of life.
Delegating responsibilities is common among leaders because it allows them to focus on more important tasks. I have not held a leadership role, so I do not have experience delegating tasks at work. I am very particular about how I do things, and I often prefer to do them myself. This, however, can be unproductive. Using effective communication will help me delegate tasks as I can clearly convey how I would like tasks to be performed.
Self-Assessment: Compare and Contrast
Elon Musk is an innovative leader, best known for founding and leading SpaceX and Tesla Motors (Liza, 2019). The leadership skills we share include communication, creativity, and vision as well as being avid learners. In regards to differences, Musk can influence and motivate his employees, two skills that I lack as a leader.
Communication. Good communicators make sure they are easily understood so that people understand the primary message. Musk does not believe in using jargon.
Creativity. Musk is thought to be one of the most creative leaders of our time.
Musk has always had a clear vision of making a positive impact on the world through sustainable energy, and space exploration. Throughout his career, he has taken initiatives that align with his vision. He has always stayed true to his beliefs and in doing so, he has inspired others to join his companies and work towards those same goals (Liza, 2019). Like Musk, I believe in the importance of having a vision that is impactful to others, and in his case has the potential to change the world. Although my vision isn’t as revolutionary as Musk’s, I believe as a leader it is necessary to have a vision that you believe in, motivates you to do better, and inspires your team to work together.
Lastly, we both possess the learner trait, which falls under the strategic thinking theme. In many ways, Musk’s success can be credited to his eagerness and desire for learning. A good leader will create a culture of continuous learning and growth, empowering people to look for ways to improve, which is the company culture Musk has created. Ultimately, leaders motivate their employees to be better so that the organization as a whole can continue to evolve (Liza, 2019).
Leadership and Management: Career Track
In 1995, Musk started his first company, Zip2, with his brother. Zip2 was a web software company that developed and sold internet city guides for the newspaper publishing industry. Elon and his brother were successful, gaining contracts with The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune. In 1999, Zip2 was acquired for $340 million (Fabiano, 2019).
In 1999, using the money from Zip2, Musk co-founded X.com. A year later, the online financial services company merged with Confinity, which was renamed PayPal. In 2002, PayPal was acquired by eBay, and Musk received $165 million for it (Fabiano, 2019).
Musk started SpaceX in 2002 with the vision to develop and manufacture affordable space launch vehicles. The company has completed more than 100 launches, contracted more than 6,000 employees, and developed three vehicles. Musk remains the CEO of the company. The long-term goal of SpaceX is to make commercial space travel possible and relatively affordable (Fabiano, 2019).
In 2004, Musk joined Tesla’s board of directors as chairman. In 2008, he became the CEO. Then, in 2014, Musk announced that Tesla would release all of the company’s patents to fight climate change and advance sustainable transport. Tesla has put four cars on the market and the Tesla Roadster is expected to be released in 2020. Tesla also sells electric powertrain systems to Daimler and Toyota (Fabiano, 2019). Based on this timeline, Musk has held leadership positions for the majority of his career which has contributed to him being such as great leader today.
Leadership and Management: Leadership
Musk leads through his vision, which is both appealing and inspiring to his supporters, even though some people think it is unrealistic. His leadership style has convinced people to believe in big, meaningful visions (Fisk, 2016). Many people follow Musk because he is passionate and he truly cares about contributing to society in a positive and meaningful way, which is why his companies have been successful thus far.
As a leader, Musk has set the standards of his industry.
Leadership and Management: Management
Musk’s management style is unique. Tesla, unlike most companies its size, doesn’t have any particular management structure. Tesla’s organizational structure can be characterized as divisional. This organizational structure increases the rate of communication within the different branches of management and makes it easier for communication to flow freely between employees. Musk makes it clear that he wants his employees to focus on the work and making the end product come out at the lowest cost, at the highest quality, and as quickly as possible (Dudovskiy, 2018).
The company culture of Musk’s businesses includes hard work and dedication. Some employees see the team culture and environment as a motivator, while others do not. The very open office space contributes to this since employees can see other employees working hard. It is not uncommon for employees to work 60 plus hour work weeks and even pull all-nighters in the office.
However, many employees do this because they want to and they love their work and share the vision that Musk has. Musk even holds meetings about work-life balance and he tries to be as flexible as possible with his employees, by letting them work remotely or managing their schedules. On the contrary for some employee’s burnout is a real thing, and passion can only take you so far. There is a high turnover for people that don’t work well in that environment, and some people have to take short sabbaticals and come back later (Dudovskiy, 2018).
Musk also offers many perks for his employees to entice them to stay at the office longer like free dinners, coffee, froyo, an in-office masseuse, and monthly celebrations with free goodies. At SpaceX, employees could watch camera feeds of the factory floor from their desks and they were encouraged to explore (Dudovskiy, 2018).
