How valuable is Elon Musk’s ‘charismatic’ leadership? That’s the 56 billion dollar question
Maybe the Tesla directors who agreed to pay Elon Musk US$56 billion were just feeling generous.
- Maybe the Tesla directors who agreed to pay Elon Musk US$56 billion were just feeling generous.
- Or maybe, as the judge who cancelled this “unfathomable” deal suggested, they really were “starry eyed” and swayed by Musk’s “superstar appeal”.
- Certainly Musk – and his style of leadership – seems to be constantly in the spotlight.
- My research suggests that charismatic leadership seems to be enjoying a renaissance, having fallen out of fashion over the past two decades.
The return of charisma?
- The CEOs of the most famous global companies ten years ago, such as ExxonMobil and Walmart, were not household names.
- But today, the bosses of corporations such as Meta, Amazon and Tesla are world famous.
- The search for Khurana’s “saviour” figures seems to offer a simple escape route from worries over climate change, war and economic turbulence.
Furthermore, in a world increasingly reliant on algorithms, business has become somewhat dehumanised. People may be yearning for leadership with a (super)human face.
A more crowded stage
- If the charismatic leader is making a comeback, it is a comeback on a more crowded stage.
- They may be popular in certain circles, but so too is the leader as a champion of diversity, or ethics, or human relationships.
- So, perhaps the big question is how we can best moderate the enormous concentration of power accumulated by some charismatic leaders.
Sverre Spoelstra does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.