Tag Archive for: Elon Musk

On August 7, 2021, Logos President Helio Fred Garcia was quoted in Communication Intelligence Magazine about destructive communication and behaviors in leaders.

The article highlights the recent revelations about Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk in the book Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century by The Wall Street Journal’s Tim Higgins. Higgins’ research uncovered a toxic work culture wherein Elon Musk exploits his power to put fear in assembly-line workers and others in the C-suite.

In the article, Garcia explains how some founders believe that brilliance and energy are enough, and how faulty that assumption can be. “Brilliance and energy are not enough; they’re not sustainable in the long run if they lead to an unhealthy or toxic culture,” he explains.

“The tone of any company is set at the top. And toxicity flows downhill quickly,” Garcia continues. “Add that to the current level of incivility in public life and discourse, and it gets even worse. The mystique of the founder goes only so far. Abusive leaders risk losing the loyalty of their people.”

Read the full article here.