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Choose one leader you consider to be effective. This can be a leader you are personally aware of, or someone you don’t know, but have observed to be an effective leader. Write a paper addressing the following: Explain how this leader has influenced you and why you think he or she is effective. Analyze what characteristics or qualities this person possesses that affected you most. Rate this leader by using a leadership scorecard.

This can be a developed scorecard, or one you develop yourself. If you use a developed scorecard, please be sure to cite the sources of the scorecard. Once you have identified your scorecard, rate your leader. You decide what scores to include (for example, scale of 1–5, 5 being the highest) but be sure to assess the leader holistically across the critical leadership competencies you feel are most important (for example, visioning, empowering, strategy development, and communication). Critique this individual’s skills against what you have learned about leadership so far in this course.

Consider the following: How well does he/she meet the practices covered in your required readings? How well has he/she adapted to the challenges facing leaders today? If you could recommend changes to his/her leadership approach, philosophy, and style, what would you suggest? Why? Using the assigned readings, the Argosy University online library resources, and the Internet including general organizational sources like the Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, or Harvard Business Review, build a leadership profile of the leader you selected.

Include information from personal experiences as well as general postings on the selected leader from Internet sources such as blogs. Be sure to include 2–3 additional resources not already included in the required readings in support of your leadership profile. Write a 3–5-page paper in Word format. Apply APA standards to citation.

Paper For Above instruction

Leadership is often regarded as the most critical factor influencing organizational success. An effective leader can inspire, motivate, and drive an organization towards its strategic goals, fostering innovation and resilience in the face of challenges. In this paper, I have selected a leader whom I believe exemplifies strong leadership qualities—Elon Musk. Recognized globally for his pioneering work with Tesla, SpaceX, and other ventures, Musk has profoundly influenced technological innovation and sustainable energy. His leadership style and qualities serve as a compelling case study for understanding effective leadership in contemporary organizations.

Elon Musk has significantly influenced my perception of leadership by demonstrating the importance of vision, resilience, and innovation. His unwavering commitment to his goals and ability to push boundaries exemplify transformational leadership, inspiring countless entrepreneurs, engineers, and enthusiasts worldwide. Musk’s approach to leadership involves a high level of risk-taking, relentless pursuit of excellence, and a focus on long-term societal impact, all qualities that resonate deeply with the principles of visionary leadership.

Several characteristics contribute to Musk’s effectiveness as a leader. First, his innovative mindset fuels his ability to develop groundbreaking technologies and challenge the status quo. Second, his resilience is evident in his capacity to persevere through failures, setbacks, and skepticism. Third, his charisma and communication skills enable him to rally support from stakeholders, employees, and the public, enhancing organizational cohesion and alignment around his missions.

To evaluate Musk’s leadership, I employed a tailored leadership scorecard based on models from Kouzes and Posner (2017), which emphasizes five key practices: inspiring a shared vision, enabling others to act, challenging the process, modeling the way, and encouraging the heart. Using a 1-5 scale, with 5 being exceptional, I rated Musk highly for his visionary thinking (5), communication (4), and resilience (5). However, I identified areas for improvement, such as delegation and organizational structure, where some critics argue Musk’s hands-on approach can lead to overextension and operational challenges.

Compared to the leadership practices covered in my coursework, Musk adeptly demonstrates the importance of setting a compelling vision and fostering innovation. His ability to adapt to rapid technological change and industry disruptions aligns with contemporary leadership demands. Nevertheless, his leadership style sometimes reflects autocratic tendencies—his intense personal involvement and decision-making authority can hinder team empowerment and organizational agility. For improvement, I would recommend Musk adopt more participative leadership practices, encouraging more team input and empowering middle management to enhance decision-making processes.

From the assigned readings and additional sources such as Harvard Business Review articles and industry analyses, it is clear that Musk exemplifies transformational and visionary leadership. His capacity to challenge conventional industries and promote disruptive innovation aligns with Burns’ (1978) concept of transformational leadership, inspiring followers to transcend personal interests for the collective good. However, his approach also underscores the importance of balancing vision with managerial discipline to sustain long-term organizational health.

Furthermore, Musk exemplifies resilience, a critical trait in navigating today’s unpredictable business environment, marked by technological volatility and market competition. His strategies for managing risk, maintaining focus, and fostering resilience, as outlined by Schein (2010), are integral to his leadership effectiveness. Nonetheless, critics suggest that integrating more stakeholder engagement and fostering organizational learning could mitigate some of the internal tensions and operational inefficiencies observed in his companies.

In conclusion, Elon Musk’s leadership reflects qualities of visionary thinking, resilience, and innovation that align well with contemporary leadership practices. While his strengths have clearly driven remarkable achievements, adopting more inclusive decision-making and organizational development practices could enhance his effectiveness further. Given the fast-changing landscape of global industries and technological advancements, adaptive, participative, and stakeholder-focused leadership are essential for long-term success. This leadership profile underscores the importance of continuous development and adaptation in leadership, as demonstrated by Musk’s career.

References

• Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. Harper & Row.
• Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2017). The Leadership Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations. Wiley.
• Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational Culture and Leadership. Jossey-Bass.
• Venkatesh, V., & Davis, F. D. (2000). A theoretical extension of the Technology Acceptance Model: Four longitudinal field studies. Management Science, 46(2), 186–204.
• Barsh, J., Capozzi, M., & Davidson, J. (2010). Leadership and innovation. McKinsey Quarterly, 1, 36–47.
• HBR Staff. (2018). What makes a leader? Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org
• Collins, J. C. (2001). Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don’t. HarperBusiness.
• Goleman, D. (2000). Leadership that gets results. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org
• Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Sage Publications.
• Rost, J. C. (1991). Leadership for the Twenty-First Century. Westview Press.