STEERING THE STARS: THE COMPLEXITY OF LEADERSHIP IN THE AGE OF MUSK

Now that ground-breaking technical developments and utopian ideals collide in an evolving world of work where leaders are under increasing scrutiny, executive leadership is in as much focus as ever before. Take SpaceX, set to launch its very first rocket into space from Cape Canaveral in Florida on 8 February. Not only is the company’s owner Elon Musk redefining the limits of human spaceflight, he also gives us a front-row seat on executive relationships, organisational cultures and what it’s like to work there.

THE EXECUTIVE NEXUS: NAVIGATING PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL

Elon Musk, whose SpaceX rocket transported the first crew of civilian astronauts to the International Space Station, is alleged to have had sexual relationships with a SpaceX intern, hired to work in an executive role after Musk reportedly brought her on as an intern to ‘troubleshoot company challenges’. According to Jennifer Shelton and Margaret ‘Peggy’ Whitson, two NASA astronauts writing for The Atlantic in tribute to Shelton’s father, Musk has affairs with SpaceX employees. ‘In the executive shadowlands, allegations of affairs – with women in midlevel management – are commonplace,’ write Shelton and Whitson. ‘It also behoves us to ask: where is the ethical standard on power dynamics in this executive environment?’

THE IMPACT OF EXECUTIVE DECISIONS ON WORKPLACE CULTURE

The interplay of intimate relationships with executive decisions creates a complicated picture – when executive judgment is clouded by personal prejudice, the effects ripple throughout the organisation. One example, reported by The Los Angeles Times in 2018, is of a SpaceX staffer who was denied a raise and berated after she turned down Musk’s advances. A staffer who has to dodge Musk’s advances and then be punished for refusing to submit would face a career uphill battle at the company In a certain way, it might be helpful for Elon Musk to make a ‘complete idiot’ of himself – if only it were less agonising for the rest of us to witness.

EXECUTIVE POWER: VULNERABILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITY

The seriousness of executive personal conduct and corporate governance cannot be ignored. What the allegations reported by The Wall Street Journal detail – namely, Musk’s sexual entanglements with subordinates – is part of a larger question about executive power and accountability. The more than 48 individuals who spoke to The Journal – including former SpaceX employees – put a spotlight on these executives and their power dynamics, and the vulnerabilities these relationships can present.

LEADERSHIP TEST: THE EXECUTIVE’S ROLE IN SHAPING ETHOS

Beyond the personal, executive conduct and choices serve to shape a company’s ethos. Reported cases of alleged harassment and discrimination at SpaceX bring into sharp focus how leadership can play a necessary role in the formation of a healthy culture – or fail to prevent or address a harmful one. While defending the company’s ethos and Musk in a statement responding to the *WSJ*’s report, SpaceX’s President Gwynne Shotwell described its culture as one that ‘has thrived and succeeded in the face of great adversity’. Shotwell’s defence of SpaceX opens an important space to consider the ways executive conduct is filtered through the routine practices of corporation mythmaking.

ETHICS IN ORBIT: THE EXECUTIVE CHALLENGE OF LEADING BY EXAMPLE

Musk’s alleged intimate relations with staff underscore the continuing struggle executives face between achieving success through innovation and looking the other way. A story of technological triumph is also a story of sex and power at SpaceX. Although Musk denies many of the allegations, there is no denying the dichotomy of innovation against a backdrop of ethical and managerial travesties. Executives must strive for the impossible: the need to encourage radical creativity while, at the same time, cultivating environments of respect and trust, where ethical principles of integrity and accountability can thrive.

EXPLORING THE EXECUTIVE LANDSCAPE

And executive describes more than a title or role, a job. It’s who we are. It’s the tasks and responsibilities, challenges and opportunities, that come along with being an executive, conveying the essence of leadership, vision and stewardship, the ethical handling and utilisation of an organisation’s most valuable resource, the people. Indeed, the recent reports about Elon Musk and SpaceX are a reminder of the flurry of responsibilities, the web of relationships and power dynamics, and the ethics that executives regularly confront.

When executives make public and private decisions, they both reflect and to some extent create the organisational culture and ethos. As corporate leaders, they are expected to model the highest standards of conduct, as well as an environment in which all employees can work together with equality, respect and opportunity.

The very experience of being an executive is character-building, decision-making, thought-provoking, and interpersonally complex. It is what makes the ethics of top leadership so important. It’s easy to make top execs into mythical figures, either as heroes or villains. Many stories, even in fiction, revolve around characters in positions of power who choose to do what is right. And, of course, there are many real-life examples in present-day life of bosses who do the wrong thing. Not just bosses, but politicians, corporate executives, fund managers and owners of professional sports franchises who make decisions in large part on the basis of their own, often greedy, self-interest. Indeed, we see some of this over and over in the news. We also know that there are informal ways in which executives push and prod people into compliance with company ‘culture’. And it is easy to be cynical about that as well: many CEOs do indeed give lip service to ethical behaviour. But isn’t there something more to the story of executive ethics?

Overall, the disclosures about Musk, and the discussion that followed, are an important reframing point for executive leadership in the 21st century. As the nature and nuances of power, ethical leadership and corporate culture evolve further, the role that the executive plays will be more central than ever. Going forward, a reset to executive values and standards of behaviour, and governance, will be needed to ensure that the march of innovation and ideas is accompanied by a commitment to integrity, respect for dignity, and the rights and wellbeing of others.