About 10 days ago, Elon Musk’s turbulent acquisition of Twitter was finalized. Less than a week later, he fired about half of the company’s employees.
Methinks this is just the beginning of a long saga involving the bluebird.
Musk said there has been a “massive drop in revenue” after several companies, including General Mills, Unilever, United Airlines, American Express, Ford, Forbes, Pfizer, and Volkswagen (along with its automotive brands - Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley, and Porsche) among many others, pulled back on their Twitter ads due to concerns over content moderation. He blamed the drop on pressure from activists.
As I watched this situation unfold, I couldn’t help but see where a couple of key emotional intelligence skills would have made a difference. Here are some of the things I’ve noticed so far:
Firstly, it seemed to me that the acquisition itself was not properly thought through. How else would you classify saying you would acquire a company for US$44 billion (which many considered an overpayment) and then tried to back away from it?
No proper due diligence was done. Musk spoke and acted before thinking through what the ramifications were. This showed a lack of Impulse Control. He probably didn’t count on Twitter suing him when he tried back away from his offer. The result? Being forced to go ahead with an acquisition he probably didn’t really want. That’s the consequence of the first shot he aimed at his own foot.
In addition, I think many of his own pronouncements before and during the acquisition most likely spooked many of the company’s advertisers. For a platform that has for years struggled with how to balance free speech with misinformation and hate speech, I would have thought saying that you want to open it up to voices that you think have been suppressed could strike terror into advertisers who are concerned that their ads could appear alongside problematic content. So, it should have come as no surprise that they may take their ad spending elsewhere. But it seems he didn’t see that coming.
The same Impulse Control skill could be seen in very short supply when Musk unilaterally decided to fire about 3,700 employees less than a week after the acquisition was finalized. Of course, he could do whatever he wanted since he’s now the sole owner. Layoffs are unfortunately common these days but great organizations know that when needed, they should be done with copious amounts of planning, care, compassion, and respect for every person impacted.
None of these seem to have played a role here. Almost immediately after the layoffs started, there were reports of a class-action lawsuit being filed by current and former employees saying the company did not give sufficient notice of the layoff under state and federal laws.
What about the effects of the layoffs on those left behind? I can't help but imagine the level of fear that is now permeating the entire organization. Psychological safety is most likely gone. Many would be wondering if they are next and would definitely start looking for opportunities elsewhere. Their focus would now be divided and employee engagement will fall. Innovation will suffer as no one will be willing to promote fresh ideas or challenge proposals. The company could become a caricature of its former self.
Even more telling are unconfirmed news reports (as of this writing) that just after about three days of the layoffs, Twitter started asking some of the employees to return. One report said that “management at Twitter has come to the realization it either let some workers off by accident or without realizing their experience was essential to building the features Elon Musk wants to bring to the platform.”
I would have thought that a businessman and corporate leader of Musk’s caliber would understand the effect that such a hastily-concocted layoff will have on the quality of the company’s products and the morale of those who remain. But hey, what do I know?!
Another skill I see lacking in this who saga is Self-Awareness. Instead of seeing where his own actions and missteps have contributed to the huge losses in revenue, Musk is blaming others (“activists”) for his woes. Rather than looking inward to consider how he had contributed to the predicament, he’s seeing himself as a victim and embracing an external locus of control.
The activists on the other hand say “Elon’s ‘hellscape’ is already here.” They claim that he’s bringing the revenue losses on himself because his actions aren't matching his words and advertisers can see that for themselves. I agree with their assessment. Maybe that makes me an “activist” too! Of course, your actions are unlikely to match your words when you tend to speak and act without thinking through the repercussions - especially if you do so on a public platform with hundreds of millions listening to you.
I can point to a couple more, but it's not my intention to belabor the point. My intention is to show how a deficiency in any emotional intelligence skill can be costly for a leader. Lacking in just a few of the skills can be deadly. It would be interesting to see how this Twitter saga eventually plays out. I think it will be a wild ride for everyone involved.
While you and I can dissect Elon Musk all day because his words and actions are on display for all to see, what’s even more important is how the lack of these same skills is affecting our own life and career successes.
Do you look inwards when things don't go as you expect or is it always someone else’s fault?
Have you taken stock of how not being able to control your impulses could be delaying or derailing your success?
If you haven't, this may be a good time to do so. And reach out for help before it becomes too late.