Building expertise tends to increase one’s social power. However, it takes time and effort to build it. When others look for direction, you are the one who has to guide them with your expertise and it is the need of the hours that leaders realize the importance of developing their expertise in and beyond.

Elon Musk the CEO of a few great companies, is the man you need to learn from if you want to understand the relationship between expertise and effective leadership.¹ Well, his story is a little different, he had developed technical knowledge and expertise before he became a leader. But he is excellent at both. His knowledge is vast, evident from the companies he started, like a multinational electric automotive company dealing with the science of batteries and solar energy, and a multinational financial technology company and many more. His technical skills are so advanced that he created all these companies from scratch, inspired many on the way, and became a successful leader. 

So what are three habits to effectively develop expertise for a leader?

Not unlike a compass that always points towards a magnetic field, people always tend to follow a magnetic leader. The most successful organizations across the globe have an internal compass that they call a magnetic leader who everyone naturally wants to associate with. 

Workplaces are often reflective of their leaders. Take Michael Scott from The Office, for example, his energy to bond with his employees on a personal level made his workplace closer than a family. Though sometimes inappropriate, he had a magnetism of his own allowing even leaders above him to respect him. There’s generally that one person in the organization who oozes personal magnetism, which not only attracts and engages but also retains people. It is this personal magnetism that energizes everyone in the organization to bring their best to work, every single day.