Following from our previous episode on Bad Leaders, we look for lessons in leadership from the case study of Citizen Musk. David takes a psychologist’s perspective and examines if Elon’s self reported Autism Spectrum Disorder and his apparent narcissism offers both explanations for his combination of extraordinary achievements and appalling / idiosyncratic behaviours. Randal questions if he can be considered a leader at all - why not just an entrepreneur?  We go on to debate neurodiversity in the workplace, rockets, charismatic leaders, the need for transformational leaders to have complementary transactional managers, and if the social identity approach can help us understand Elon’s appeal. Throughout Randal maintains a very sceptical attitude towards Elon, whilst David speaks as a transitioning fanboy. The narrative arc of the episode climaxes with what appears to be a reconciliation between the two protagonists but then, in a stunning and unexpected twist, we end up shouting at each other yet again over what we should take from Elon’s story. Plus ça change…Being good evidence based practitioners, we are seeking feedback from our audience on our podcasts. So please tell us all the things we are doing well as well as pandering to your innate drive to criticise the work of others. We may listen and adjust or we may just continue to be ourselves and do things our own way, dammit.

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