Leadership Lessons From Elon Musk And Others To Keep In Mind In 2024

Weekly Business Insights from Top Ten Business Magazines | Week 328

Extractive summaries and key takeaways from the articles curated from TOP TEN BUSINESS MAGAZINES to promote informed business decision-making | Since September 2017 | Week 328 | December 22-28, 2023

Personal Development, Leadership & Managing | Section 3

Leadership Lessons From Elon Musk And Others To Keep In Mind In 2024

By Edward Segal | Forbes Magazine | December 27, 2023

Extractive Summary of the Article | Listen

There is no shortage this year of examples of how well—or how poorly—executives helped lead their organizations or the lessons they left behind when they died, were fired, or resigned.

1. Be Curious.  Elon Musk is that rare business executive who often provides examples and lessons of what corporate leaders should do or avoid doing.  On the plus side, “I think Elon is incredibly curious and a natural when it comes to large audacious experiments; some work, some do not, but the key is to learn and iterate,” Ari Lightman, a Distinguished Service Professor of Digital Media and Marketing at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy.
2. Consider Different Points Of View.  After the death this year of former Supreme Court associate justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Nathan Herrington, a development and leadership coach, said that “O’Connor’s reputation for considering diverse viewpoints exemplifies a crucial leadership quality.”  “Leaders often find it challenging to embrace varied perspectives due to inherent biases, the comfort of familiar thought patterns, or pressure to conform to a prevailing viewpoint.
3. Unethical Behavior Can Have Consequences.  The resignation of former Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House provided a different kind of leadership lesson.  “The [resulting] turmoil in the House of Representatives should remind leaders of what can happen when people behaving unethically are allowed to continue in their roles without sanction.  “There is always the potential for their behavior to have spillover effects and disrupt the focus of an organization.”
4. Admit Mistakes.  Former CDC director Rochelle Walensky admitted in August that mistakes were made in how the CDC responded to the pandemic.  Such shake-up is necessary to fully restore credibility and the public’s trust and to ensure a more effective and efficient response to future health crises.
5. Followership Is Necessary For Leadership.  “Unlike former CNN president Jeffrey Zucker, who [had] an office on a CNN newsroom floor,[former CNN chief executive Chris] Licht separated himself from the network’s journalists.    “Perhaps Licht did not do enough to build internal followers and supporters. The challenge is if you don’t invest enough in the troops who you need to follow you into battle.

A key takeaways from the article

1. There is no shortage this year of examples of how well—or how poorly—executives helped lead their organizations or the lessons they left behind when they died, were fired, or resigned.  Five of these lessons are: Be Curious, Consider Different Points Of View, Unethical Behavior Can Have Consequences, Admit Mistakes, and Invest in Followership That Is Necessary For Leadership.

Full Article

(Copyright lies with the publisher)

Topics:  Leadership, Curiosity, Ethics