SpaceX was founded in 2002 with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and creating the technology needed to colonize Mars. This lofty mission was the brainchild of the company's founder, Elon Musk. Musk is known for being a visionary and controversial leader with ambitious goals for his companies. In addition to his role as CEO of SpaceX, he is in leadership positions at Tesla, an electric vehicle and solar panel manufacturer; SolarCity, a solar energy services company;
Neuralink, a neurotechnology company; and The Boring Company, an infrastructure and tunnel construction company.
A 2016 employee survey ranked SpaceX as having the highest stress work environment among top tech companies. Interestingly, SpaceX also ranked highest among the companies surveyed for being the most meaningful place to work. This sense of purpose is inspired by SpaceX's mission to make humans an inter-planetary species, as well as by its frequent rocket launches which serve as small but tangible milestones toward its grander mission. In addition to successfully launching astronauts into space in 2020, SpaceX plans to put astronauts on the moon by 2024.
One of SpaceX's board members attributed the organization's success to the strong "meaningfulness" factor felt by its employees. After a little over 50 years of the first person stepping on the moon, SpaceX became the first private company to transport astronauts to Earth from the International Space Station when Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley made a safe water landing on SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule on August 2, 2020. Musk is also known for motivating his employees by making them feel like part of a larger team.
He encourages senior managers to practice servant leadership, the principle of inspiring others through selflessness and helping them succeed by eliminating barriers they encounter while striving toward their goals. He is reported to expect senior leaders to work harder than those who report to them, and to make sure their teams' needs are met before their own.
Further, Musk is reported to have exceptionally high standards, be excessively demanding of his employees, and exhibit workaholic tendencies himself. In 2018, he tweeted, "There are easier places to work, but nobody ever changed the world on 40 hours a week." This type of leadership has been criticized for potentially leading to a culture of burnout.
Much like many Silicon Valley tech companies, Musk entices SpaceX employees to spend more time at work and to remain committed to the mission by providing perks such as free food and an in-house massage therapist. He also invites celebrities to give private talks, provides employee only movie screenings, and sends employees encouraging emails and addresses them at regular all-hands gatherings. These gatherings are especially poignant when they are tied to a launch, which enables employees to celebrate the fruits of their labor.

Questions

1. Would you be motivated by a company culture such as the one at SpaceX? Why or why not?
2. Do you think Musk’s leadership style would work well at a company with a different type of mission?
3. What do you think are some characteristics of people who aspire to work at a place like SpaceX? Do you think this has anything to do with its stress and meaningfulness rankings?
4. Do you think SpaceX’s mission or its perks are more meaningful in encouraging employees to stick around, despite the high-stress environment?
5. If leadership at SpaceX began to encourage more work-life balance for its employees, how do you think that would impact the overall performance of the organization? Please explain.

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Multimedia Extension-SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on the Next Giant Leap for Mankind View in the online reader SUNDAY MORNING