USE THIS PRINCIPLE TO BUILD INSPIRED TRIBES

On May 30th, 2020 SpaceX became the first commercial operator to carry astronauts into space, a giant step toward their goal of getting to Mars. Since being founded in 2002, they have had many pioneering accomplishments and have led the private sector in space travel.

Their CEO Elon Musk is also the CEO of Tesla and has founded other companies including The Boring Company, Solar City, Neuralink, Open AI, and PayPal. All of which are striving to improve the future by re-inventing industries.

When so many companies are struggling to adapt to our changing world, how is one person involved in multiple companies that are leading that change? In this article, we will look at how Elon Musk inspires groups of people to accomplish goals that change the world.

Tribes 

In the book Tribal Leadership, the authors discuss building organizations by leveraging how humans naturally form groups.

They write; “Every organization is really a set of small towns… “We call these small towns tribes, and they form so naturally it’s as though our tribe is part of our genetic code. Tribes helped humans survive the last ice age, build farming communities, and, later, cities. Birds flock, fish school, people “tribe.”

There are 5 stages the authors have identified. Each stage increasing in effectiveness and achievements from members of the group.

• Signs of Stage One. Most people talk as though they are alienated from organizational concerns. When they cluster together, they form isolated gangs that operate by their own rules, often based on absolute loyalty to the group.
• Signs of Stage Two. People talk as though they are disconnected from organizational concerns, seeming to not care about what’s going on. They do the minimum to get by, showing almost no initiative or passion. They cluster together in groups that encourage passive-aggressive behavior (talking about how to get out of work, or how to shine the boss on) while telling people in charge that they are on board with organizational initiatives.
• Signs of Stage Three. People engage in anything that’s going on, with energy and commitment, but when you listen closely, they talk mostly about themselves and focus on appearing smarter and better than others. They think they’re focused on team concerns, but their actions show their interest is personal.
• Signs of Stage Four. Teams are the norm, focused around shared values and a common purpose. Information moves freely throughout the group. People’s relationships are built on shared values. They tend to ask, “what’s the next right thing to do?” and to build ad hoc partnerships to accomplish what’s important at the moment. Their language focuses on “we,” not “me.”
• Signs of Stage Five. Your tribes hardly ever refer to the competition, except to note how remarkable their own culture is by comparison, and how far their results outstrip industry norms. The theme of communication is limitless potential, bounded only by imagination and group commitment.

Stage Four and Stage Five are necessary to accomplish large goals due to their ability to engage every member of the group and focus their energy in the same direction. A leader’s priority is to build and inspire the tribe. The authors note; “Without the leaders building the tribe, a culture of mediocrity will prevail. Without an inspired tribe, leaders are impotent.”

Elon Musk is able to build multiple high performing and committed tribes. One of the most important ways he does this, is by leveraging a Noble Cause.

Noble Cause

The authors of Tribal Leadership write; “A noble cause is a pronouncement of a future state that a tribe will bring about through its coordinated action. It is bigger than what one person can do alone, no matter how many people are offering technical support; it requires people’s best efforts and passions.”

Elon Musk is able to communicate causes for each company that define what they were created for. What their purpose for existing is. A few examples;

• Overarching Goal: “Change the world and help humanity”
• Tesla: “Reduce global warming through sustainable energy production and consumption”
• SpaceX: “Lessening the risk of human extinction by establishing a human colony on Mars” 

Each of his causes are about helping the world and define how he believes he can help. Every decision can be challenged by asking if they move the cause forward. They provide clarity. Creating a cause or mission is the first step in declaring your values and what you would like to accomplish. This is needed as a signal so people can find you. 

Using Cause to Recruit the Right People 

“People believe in the mission. Minimizing the risk of exetentional harm in the future... We are always looking for great people to join and work on the mission.” Elon Musk speaking about Open AI. 

His causes attract some of the brightest people in the world. They are challenging and attractive to the type of people he wants to work with.They also speak to values he cares about, another way to attract the right people for the tribe.

He doesn’t just find people to work with him. He invites them to join the cause. When people have causes to work on, they find more meaning in their lives. When people find meaning at work, they don’t resist giving their best effort because they are naturally getting something important back in return.

Once he finds the right people, he inspires them through his commitment to the cause above all.

Putting Cause Before Ego

“When starting SpaceX, I thought that the odds of success were less than 10 percent, and I just accepted that actually probably, I would just lose everything. But that maybe we would make some progress. We could just move the ball forward, even if we died maybe some other company could pick up the baton and keep moving it forward. So we would still do some good. Same with Tesla, I thought the odds of a car company succeeding were extremely low.” Elon Musk on risks of SpaceX and Tesla.

Elon Musk is so focused on his cause that he didn’t care if he failed. He didn’t care if he lost all his money. It was more important that he tried and at least made progress for the world. The behaviors are all consistent with the causes he defines (See causes above for SpaceX and Tesla).

When leaders put their ego aside, the tribe can focus all their energy on making an impact. When the leader shows with their actions, that the most important thing is the cause, people naturally follow.

Application

“If somebody is doing something that is useful to the rest of society, I think that’s a good thing, it doesn’t have to change the world.” Elon Musk advice to others.

Elon Musk shows us how to use a cause to unite people who want to change the world. However, every cause doesn’t have to be about changing the world. There are principles we can learn to apply to our own organizations or personal lives. A Noble Cause is good if it helps society and unites people based off a common vision. This reaches the core of who we are and how we naturally form groups.

It’s how we work together to make progress.

References:

Elon Musk Interview

Tribal Leadership