Musks leadership style versus The CTO Playbook

A few years ago I wrote "The CTO Playbook" (available on Amazon). I extensively went in to leadership styles and especially in leading tech teams. With the latest rise of tech founders taking a bigger place on the large scene, for example with Elon Musk going to take a place around Donald Trumps government for "efficiency", I thought it would be a nice twist to compare Elon Musks leadership style to mine, and the one explained in The CTO Playbook.

To achieve this, I have used several AI tools, which could also be interesting to know. I'll explain in the end.

Elon Musk’s leadership style and the principles outlined in The CTO Playbook share some interesting overlaps, but they also diverge significantly in execution and priorities. Here's my take on how they compare:

Similarities between Elon Musks leadership style vs The CTO Playbook

Lean, High-Performing Teams

Musk places a high value on compact, highly skilled teams, avoiding unnecessary growth and eliminating underperformers quickly. Similarly, in The CTO Playbook, I emphasize the importance of hiring the right people—those with the right attitude, ambition, and willingness to collaborate—rather than just filling seats. Both approaches recognize that bloated teams dilute effectiveness.

Direct Involvement

Musk is deeply engaged with his engineering teams, often bypassing traditional management layers to work directly with the technical core. This resonates with my philosophy in The CTO Playbook, where I stress that leaders need to be hands-on enough to guide and clarify but without slipping into micromanagement.

Performance and Productivity

Musk runs a performance-driven environment, focusing on delivering results with intensity. Similarly, I talk about creating a culture where developers thrive on autonomy and empowerment, holding themselves accountable for outcomes.

Rapid Problem-Solving

Musk is exceptional at identifying bottlenecks and removing them quickly, often using his network to resolve issues directly. This aligns with the principle I outline in The CTO Playbook—leaders must be resourceful and agile in addressing challenges to keep projects moving forward.

Where They Differ

Intensity vs. Balance:

Musk’s environment is intense, with less emphasis on employee comfort and more on relentless execution. In contrast, I believe in balancing performance with well-being. In The CTO Playbook, I advocate for flexible working conditions, generous time off, and a healthy work-life balance to attract and retain great talent.

https://ctotmc.com/blog/time-off

https://ctotmc.com/blog/hiring-the-right-people

Hands-On Leadership vs. Delegation:

While Musk frequently dives into the technical weeds, I encourage leaders to trust their teams and avoid micromanagement. My approach focuses on enabling self-organized, autonomous teams where the leader’s role is to guide and support rather than control.

https://ctotmc.com/blog/leading-developers

Vision vs. Business Pragmatism:

Musk’s leadership is heavily vision-driven, with a hammer-like focus on long-term goals, sometimes at the expense of short-term balance. I prioritize aligning technical and operational decisions with measurable business outcomes—business comes first.

https://ctotmc.com/blog/what-to-focus-on

Hiring Philosophy:

Musk looks for immediate technical excellence and often resists investing in growing his team’s capabilities. I take a different approach: in The CTO Playbook, I recommend hiring for potential, attitude, and openness to learning. It’s about building a sustainable mix of skills and nurturing talent over time.

Final Thoughts

Elon Musk’s style is incredibly effective in high-stakes, fast-paced environments, but it’s not for everyone. What I’ve outlined in The CTO Playbook is a more balanced, people-centered approach that delivers results while building a sustainable, motivated, and empowered team culture. Both styles aim for exceptional outcomes, but the methods and the focus on people versus process differ significantly.

https://ctotmc.com/blog/motivation

How I got to these conclusions

In this video Andrej Karpathy talks about AI but also about Musks leadership style.

I took this video and put it in to https://notegpt.io/youtube-transcript-generator to generate the transcript.

This transcript was added to the CTO TMC Tech Advisor AI (a ChatGPT custom GPT trained on The CTO Playbook, available completely FREE if you have ChatGPT)

Then of course, I have edited it myself as well as read other articles on Elon Musks leadership style. We can't leave it all to AI.

Elon Musk’s style is highly effective in fast-paced, high-stakes environments but can alienate those not accustomed to its intensity. The CTO Playbook offers a more sustainable, people-focused leadership approach that balances productivity with employee satisfaction. Both approaches are results-oriented, but The CTO Playbook integrates more holistic strategies for team and cultural development.

For further insights into building high-performing teams and aligning technical processes with business goals, feel free to reach out to me. Explore Robert Mejlerö’s leadership strategies on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/robertmejlero. Let’s discuss how to elevate your leadership approach to match your organizational needs!