Leadership Report: Analyzing Leadership at Tesla - BUS 301

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of leadership within Tesla, examining various aspects such as leadership qualities, capabilities, and different leadership styles. It delves into the personal characteristics displayed by leaders, including confidence, decision-making, commitment, and communication. The report also explores capabilities crucial for building relationships and establishing trust, like critical thinking and considering employees' viewpoints. It discusses the most appropriate leadership styles for Tesla, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the democratic leadership style, and how it affects self-management and relationship building. Furthermore, the report reflects on individual leadership capabilities and styles, emphasizing the importance of communication and decision-making. It also addresses the shift from control to empowerment within the organization and how leadership abilities can effectively manage changes. Overall, the report aims to provide a thorough understanding of leadership principles and their application within the context of Tesla's business environment.

Leadership
in
Business

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
LEADERSHIP QUALITIES AND CAPABILITIES......................................................................1
Leadership qualities and personal characteristics shown by the leader in the organisation........1
The capabilities which are most relevant for effective leadership in terms of building
relationship and establishing trust................................................................................................2
Discussion regarding the capabilities which are displayed by leader at workplace....................3
LEADERSHIP STYLE....................................................................................................................3
Discussion of most appropriate leadership styles and selection of best suitable for organisation
......................................................................................................................................................3
Strengths and weaknesses of leadership style and the way in which it can affect in terms of
self management and relationship building.................................................................................4
INDIVIDUAL LEADERSHIP........................................................................................................5
Reflection of the own leadership capabilities and the style which might be used in the
organisation..................................................................................................................................5
The capability which would be developed to become a better leader and the way in which it
will be achieved...........................................................................................................................6
EMPOWERMENT..........................................................................................................................6
Discussion of the way in which organisation could shift from the paradigm of control to
empowerment...............................................................................................................................6
The way in which the above shift could be implemented and reaction of employees against the
changes.........................................................................................................................................7
Discussion of the way in which leadership abilities to manage changes could be implemented
effectively....................................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Leadership in business can be defined as the capability of an organisation's managers to
formulate strategies for the achievement of challenging goals and objectives for future. It also
includes the ability of inspiring staff members to perform in best manner so that they can
contribute in organisational success (Anderson, Adams and Adams, 2015). Main purpose of this
report is to understand the importance of leadership in business. The organisation which is
selected for this assignment is Tesla. It is running its operations under automotive industry. It
was founded in year 2003 by Elon Musk, Martin Eberhard, JB Straubel and Marc Tarpenning.
The leadership structure which is followed by the company is function based hierarchy, Tesla's
scope is very wide because it sale all its cars in the automotive industry all around the world. The
limitation of Tesla is that its autopilot cars are having error in the system which is affecting its
market image. This report covers various topics such as leadership qualities, capabilities,
different styles of it, individuals leadership and empowerment.
LEADERSHIP QUALITIES AND CAPABILITIES
Leadership qualities and personal characteristics shown by the leader in the organisation
The ability which helps an individual to lead a team is known as leadership. In order to
perform all the tasks appropriately it is very important for leaders in all the organisations such as
Tesla to display some specific leadership qualities and personal characteristics. All of them are
as follows:
Qualities:
 Confidence: Leaders in Tesla are confident about the strategies and decisions which are
made by them for the company. They are also having confidence on all the subordinates
which are working within the organisation it helps to enhance their motivation level and
work quality.
 Decision making: The quality of decision making of leaders in Tesla is very good. They
have shown it by launching new and innovative models such as Model 3 etc. in the
market which have resulted in higher profits for the company. If they have not shown it
then it would have affected the market share of entity (Becker, 2018).
Personal characteristics:
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 Commitment: All the leaders in Tesla have characteristic of fulfilling all the
commitments as it helps them to be the choice of employer for all the employees. All the
superiors in the organisation try to work according to the promises which are made to
staff members so that they could be inspired to perform jobs productively.
 Communication: It is also a personal characteristic of leaders on Tesla which helps them
to motivate all the employees to accomplish all the tasks successfully. In order to enhance
engagement level of them leaders try to communicate them on regular basis so that their
disputes could be resolved effectively (Bowerman and Van Wart, 2014).
The capabilities which are most relevant for effective leadership in terms of building relationship
and establishing trust
For leaders in all the organisations it is very important to have good relations with
workforce and make sure that they have trust of their superiors. There are various types of
capabilities which are most relevant to the leadership in terms of establishing trust and building
relationship in Tesla. All of them are as follows and the leaders focus on them for the purpose of
motivating staff members to perform appropriately:
 Critical thinking: It is a capability which can help leaders of Tesla to find best suitable
ways for the attainment of organisational as well as personal goals of employees. It will
also help them to build trust and make good relations with staff members. With the help
of it their engagement level in the work could also be enhanced.
 Considering point of views of employees: By acquiring this capability the superiors in
Tesla can allow staff members to share their views of organisational policies which are
formed by them as they have practical experience of interacting with customers. It woll
facilitate them to represent a positive image in front of staff so that their trust could be
build and good relations could established (Cook and Glass, 2014).
 Stick to the commitment: In all the organisations such as Tesla leaders make different
types of commitment with the employees. For them it is very important to stick to them
so that a positive mind set of staff members for their work could be made. It can help to
establish trust and make good relations with them.
 Listening to concern of employees: For a leader it is very important to listen all the
issues that are faced by staff as it can help to motivate them to work effectively. In Tesla
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leaders should pay attention towards all the concerns of workforce for the purpose of
establishing trust and building relationship with them.
Discussion regarding the capabilities which are displayed by leader at workplace
For all the leaders it is very important to acquire all the above described capabilities so
that Tesla can reach to the desired success in future. If they are lacking them then it will result in
decreased engagement of staff, lower productivity, declines profits etc. Leaders in the
organisation have displayed various capabilities from all of them which are critical thinking,
considering point of view of employees, sticking to the commitment and listening concerns of
staff. All the superiors in within the company are highly focused with achievement of
organisational goals as it can help them to grow the business and develop it in future (Demirtas
and Akdogan, 2015).
In Tesla leaders try to make sure that they take advice from workforce while planning for
a the launching of a new car in the market. It help them to enhance motivation level of
employees which results in trust of them on their superiors. They are also focused with the
listening of all the problems which are faced by employees at workplace. Main purpose of it is to
increase their engagement level in the tasks which are performed by them. With the help of it
they establish good relations with staff as they regularly interact with employees. Critical
thinking and sticking to the commitment related capabilities are also displayed by the leaders in
Tesla because they find best ways for workforce to perform all the tasks effectively. All the
commitments which are made by leaders in Tesla to the staff are fulfilled that results in trust of
personnel of superiors.
LEADERSHIP STYLE
Discussion of most appropriate leadership styles and selection of best suitable for organisation
For all the leaders it is very important to use appropriate leadership styles at workplace so
that it can help them to accomplish all the organisational goals. There are various types of them
which could be adopted by superiors in Tesla according to the internal environment of company.
Discussion of all of them is as follows:
Autocratic leadership: This style of supervision is also known as authoritarian
leadership because the power of decision making is kept by top authority and they do not allow
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the staff members to take part in the process of formulating strategies. They rarely accept the
opinion of subordinates as they do not want to take risk.
Democratic leadership: It is also known as participative leadership in which leaders
share their power of decision making with the subordinates so that effective decisions for future
could be formulated. It depends upon collaboration and free flow of ideas among the superiors
and subordinates.
Laissez Faire Leadership: In this type of supervision leaders allow all the staff members
to make decision by their own therefore it is also known as delineative style of leadership. This
type of leadership may result in decreased productivity as it results in confusion of roles of group
members (Denhardt, 2015).
From all the above described leadership the best suitable style of supervision for Tesla is
democratic because with the help of it managers within the company can formulate effective
decisions for future. It will also facilitate the leaders to reach the organisational goals.
Strengths and weaknesses of leadership style and the way in which it can affect in terms of self
management and relationship building
The leadership style which is selected for Tesla is Democratic because it will facilitate
the leaders to formulate highly effective and strategic decisions for the betterment of
organisation with the help of employees. By focusing upon implementation of it the management
will be able to find best ways to attain success in long run and reach to the business goals which
are formulated for future. There are various strengths and weaknesses of it which are as follows:
Strengths:
 This style of leadership guides leader to delegate the responsibility of decision making
amount the team members so that their participation in the process of strategy
formulation could be increased.
 With the help of democratic leadership style supervisors can empower the staff members
by allowing them to take part in to decision making process. It will help to enhance their
motivation level and engagement in work.
 Democratic leadership helps to find best solution for the critical problems which are
faced by the company as collaboration is highly focused in it (Gallos, 2014).
Weaknesses:
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 It may result in unsatisfactory nature of some of the staff members because for leaders it
is very difficult to consider opinion of all of them.
 The decision making process in this leadership style is time consuming which may affect
the procedure of quick resolution of all the complex situations.
 It may result in conflicts among employees due to their lower ability to deal with
rejection of their ideas.
All the above described strengths and weaknesses may effect in term of self management
and relationship building. When point of view of some staff members will be considered by the
leaders then it will affect the relations with those whose opinion is not used to form decision. It
will also leave impact upon self management because while using it leaders are required to pay
attention towards all the ideas provided by employees rather than their own (Mabey and
Mayrhofer, 2015).
INDIVIDUAL LEADERSHIP
Reflection of the own leadership capabilities and the style which might be used in the
organisation
If I was a leader in Tesla then I will also require some specific capabilities to work
effectively. The leadership capabilities which will be used by me are as follows:
 Communication: It is one of my best quality which will be used by me if I will be a
leader in Tesla because with the help of it I will be able to motive staff, resolve conflicts
and inspire them to work productively.
 Decision making: It is another capability of me which guides me to formulate best
decisions in worst situations. It will also be used by me if I will be a leader in Tesla as
with the help of it highly effective strategies could be formed by me for the attainment of
long term business goals and betterment of company (Rosenbach, 2018).
The leadership style which will be used by me within the organisation will be democratic
leadership because it will help me to implement effective decisions which could be formed with
the help of staff members. Using it will be beneficial for enterprise also as it results in high level
of engagement of employees, productivity of them etc. Few strengths and weaknesses of mine
related to this style of leadership are as follows:
Strengths:
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 While using it, I will ask each and every individual working within the organisation to
provide their opinion on organisational policies.
 I have good communication skills which will help me in this leadership style to
communicate with all the employees on regular basis so that their issues could be dealt
properly.
Weaknesses:
 While using democratic leadership I can only use some ideas which are highly effective I
cannot consider point of views of all the employees it may result in decreased motivation
level of them (Ward, 2016).
 I may not be able to take effective decision in less time because this process under
democratic leadership takes very long time.
The capability which would be developed to become a better leader and the way in which it will
be achieved
The capability which is required to be developed by me in order to become better leader
is time management because it can help to perform all the tasks in specific time limit. With the
help of it I will be able to take quick decisions to deal with all the critical situations such as
decreased profitability, conflicts among staff members etc. This capability is highly required for
all the leaders because without it they will not be able to perform all the tasks effectively.
It will be achieved by me by managing all the jobs of mine appropriately and performing
all of them on time. I will also try to build good relations with staff members so that they can
help me to accomplish tasks in a predetermine time limit successfully.
EMPOWERMENT
Discussion of the way in which organisation could shift from the paradigm of control to
empowerment
Paradigm can be defined as the pattern which is focused by the management of
organisations for the completion of all the operations in systematic manner. If in companies such
as Tesla paradigm of control is used then it means that the activities which are performed by all
the staff members are controlled by leaders. If the managers are willing to shift from it to the
paradigm of empowerment the it will be beneficial for the enterprise as it will help to inspire
workforce to work productively (Wood and Logsdon, 2017). In order to shift from control to
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empowerment paradigm the leaders in Tesla are required to formulate new strategies according
to it and implement them effectively so that it could be analysed that it won't affect the
engagement level of staff members.
The way in which the above shift could be implemented and reaction of employees against the
changes
The shift in Control to Empowerment could be implemented by the leaders by
communicating with the employees and providing them information of it in detail so that they
can adapt the change. While implementing it it is very important for the managers to make sure
that information about its positive impacts should be provided to the staff so that they can react
positively. In order to implement it the theory of Kurt Lewin could be used which have three
different stages: Unfreeze, Change and Refreeze.
At first stage which is unfreezing information of shift will be provided to the employees
so that possibility of their resistance could be reduced. At second stage change is implemented
for making improvement on business process. The last level of this model is about refreezing in
which employee will be habitual to the new paradigm (Yıldız, Baştürk and Boz, 2014).
The employees may react in positive or negative manner to this change as they are
habitual to the old paradigm and it will be very difficult for them to work according to the new
one. Some of the may also behave positively because they see the positive side of change in
which they will be empowered by management rather then controlled.
Discussion of the way in which leadership abilities to manage changes could be implemented
effectively
I have various leadership abilities such as communication, decision making etc. With the
help of all of them I will be able to implement and manage the shift from control to
empowerment paradigm properly. While implementing it I will make sure that I will
communicate with all the employees about it and introduce them to the positive side of it.
It will be beneficial for management and implementation of the new paradigm because
the staff members will be aware of the change in advance and they will respond positively to it as
it is mainly in favour of them. My ability of decision making will also be beneficial for me as it
will help me to implement and manage change properly because with the help of it I will make
effective strategies for implementation of new paradigm at workplace (Zhang, Chen and Ang,
2014).
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CONCLUSION
From the above project report it has been concluded that leadership in all the business is
required for the execution of all operational activities in systematic manner. There are various
qualities and characteristics which are required by leaders to fulfil requirements of their job role
these are confidence, communication, decision making and commitment. There are various style
of leadership which could be adopted by leaders while working within an organisation. These are
autocratic, democratic and laissez faire. While selecting one of them it is very important for
leaders to make sure that they have analysed all the positive as well as negative sides of the mode
of supervision. It will help to deal with all the challenges which may take place due to it in
future. For all the leaders it is also very important to make sure that they are able to adopt such
capabilities which are required to be improved. While planing for implementing a change at
workplace it is very important for all the leaders to make sure that they are providing detailed
information of it to the employees. With the help of it they will be able to inspire them to
respond positively against the change.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Anderson, R. J., Adams, W. A., & Adams, B. (2015). Mastering leadership: An integrated
framework for breakthrough performance and extraordinary business results. John
Wiley & Sons.
Becker, G. K. (2018). Moral leadership in business. Contemporary Issues in Leadership, 237-
257.
Bowerman, K. D., & Van Wart, M. (2014). The Business of Leadership: An Introduction: An
Introduction. Routledge.
Cook, A., & Glass, C. (2014). Women and top leadership positions: Towards an institutional
analysis. Gender, Work & Organization. 21(1). 91-103.
Demirtas, O., & Akdogan, A. A. (2015). The effect of ethical leadership behavior on ethical
climate, turnover intention, and affective commitment. Journal of Business Ethics.
130(1). 59-67.
Denhardt, J. V. (2015). The Dance of Leadership: The Art of Leading in Business, Government,
and Society: The Art of Leading in Business, Government, and Society. Routledge.
Gallos, J. V. (Ed.). (2014). Business leadership: a Jossey-Bass reader. John Wiley & Sons.
Mabey, C., & Mayrhofer, W. (Eds.). (2015). Developing leadership: questions business schools
don't ask. Sage.
Rosenbach, W. E. (2018). Contemporary issues in leadership. Routledge.
Ward, J. (2016). Keeping the family business healthy: How to plan for continuing growth,
profitability, and family leadership. Springer.
Wood, D. J., & Logsdon, J. M. (2017). Theorising business citizenship. In Perspectives on
corporate citizenship (pp. 83-103). Routledge.
Yıldız, S., Baştürk, F., & Boz, İ. T. (2014). The effect of leadership and innovativeness on
business performance. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 150. 785-793.
Zhang, Z. X., Chen, Y. R., & Ang, S. (2014). Business leadership in the Chinese context:
Trends, findings, and implications. Management and Organization Review. 10(2). 199-
221.
Online
Democratic leadership. 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<http://teamworkdefinition.com/democraticleadership/>
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