Key Takeaways
1. Lead Yourself First: Cultivate Self-Awareness and Integrity
“Lead yourself. How can you attempt to lead others until you embrace this simple truth?”
Self-leadership is foundational. Before you can effectively lead others, you must master leading yourself. This involves deep self-discovery, understanding your core identity apart from your professional role, and embracing who you truly are. Brad Lomenick's sabbatical revealed how his identity had become intertwined with Catalyst, highlighting the danger of conflating "who you are" with "what you do."
Authenticity builds trust. Once you know yourself, share the real you with others through openness and vulnerability. People are drawn to authenticity, preferring a real leader over a perfect one. This means admitting mistakes, showing emotions, and being transparent, which fosters trust and deeper connections within your team and network. As Kevin Kruse notes, authentic leaders are aware of their strengths, limitations, and emotions, and they don't hide their weaknesses.
Humility and conviction. True leadership requires meekness, remembering it's not about you, but about the mission and the team. This "power under control" balances ambition with humility. Furthermore, a habit of conviction means sticking to your principles and values, even when it's difficult. Your private life and character determine your public legacy, making integrity a non-negotiable foundation for sustained influence.
2. Define Your Purpose: Understand Calling vs. Assignment
“Identity is who you are, but calling is how you express that.”
Calling is your purpose. Your calling is the intersection of your deepest passions and greatest strengths, representing what you were designed to do best. It's a guiding light that provides fulfillment and connects the dots of your life's journey. Regularly reflecting on your calling, regardless of age or accomplishment, ensures you remain aligned with your core purpose.
Assignments are seasonal. While your calling remains relatively constant, your assignments—the specific jobs or roles you undertake—will change many times throughout your life. These assignments are seasonal expressions of your broader calling. For example, Lomenick's calling to "influence the influencers" manifested in diverse assignments like ranch foreman, magazine chief development officer, and Catalyst president.
Evaluate satisfaction regularly. To live out your calling effectively, you must regularly assess your contentment in your current assignment. Ask critical questions: "Do I love what I do?" or "Am I just enduring this?" If dissatisfaction is clear, you have two choices: change the dynamics of your current role or seek a new assignment that better aligns with your calling. This proactive approach ensures your work remains purposeful and energizing.
3. Fuel Your Drive: Embrace Healthy Ambition and Continuous Learning
“If you’re not learning, you’re not leading to your full potential.”
Ambition drives progress. Healthy ambition is an appetite for what's next, a desire to achieve, grow, and perform your best without becoming self-serving or destructive. It's about being "never satisfied, but always content," pushing yourself and your team to higher standards. This drive, when properly channeled, fuels other healthy habits and propels leaders forward, even in times of transition.
Cultivate curiosity actively. Leaders must maintain a habit of curiosity, continuously learning and growing regardless of their career stage. This means asking great questions, listening more than talking, and seeking out diverse perspectives. As John Wooden said, "A leader who is through learning is through." Surround yourself with smart people and commit to regular reading and professional development.
Feed your appetite well. To nurture healthy ambition and curiosity, leaders should:
- Sketch tomorrow: Visualize and articulate your desired future.
- Set good goals: Make them specific, attainable, challenging, and measurable.
- Stop to celebrate: Acknowledge achievements to encourage future goal-setting.
- Become an expert: Work as though you're in the position you want next.
- Keep going: Rejection is not the end; it's part of the journey to expertise.
4. Inspire and Innovate: Cast Vision and Embrace Change
“People need to be motivated, and casting a vision that propels them forward is one of the first and central tasks of a leader today.”
Vision ignites motivation. People inherently long to be part of something bigger than themselves, to believe in a better tomorrow. A leader's primary task is to craft and cast a captivating vision that inspires hope and makes work meaningful. This vision should be optimistic, simple, personal, and flexible enough to adapt to future changes, focusing on solutions rather than problems.
Innovation requires intentionality. Creativity is not just an inborn trait; it's a habit that can be nurtured through intentional effort. Innovation demands courage to take risks, acceptance of failure as a learning step, stamina to push through quitting points, and the creation of spaces conducive to new ideas. Leaders must actively seek new and better ways of doing things, refusing to settle for the status quo.
Foster a culture of change. To inspire and innovate, leaders must:
- Invite participation: Involve a wide range of people in vision-crafting and dissemination.
- Tell stories: Paint vivid pictures of the future and celebrate progress.
- Stretch limits: Dream big and set audacious goals that compel greatness.
- Shake things up: Make frequent small changes to avoid staleness and encourage adaptability.
- Find reasons to say yes: Empower team members to explore new ideas and take initiative.
5. Act Courageously: Take Calculated Risks and Overcome Fear
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. Choose courage over comfort.”
Bravery is a habit. Courage is not the absence of fear, but the commitment to face it head-on, control it, and ultimately overcome it. It's a lifelong habit that leaders must cultivate, enabling them to push the button when it's the right thing to do, even when it's frightening. Brad Lomenick's decision to start his own consulting firm, despite his preference for team environments, exemplified this everyday bravery.
Confronting fear builds capacity. Facing fears, whether personal (like Lomenick's astraphobia) or professional (like launching a new venture), increases one's capacity for other kinds of bravery. Small, consistent acts of courage build reserves for larger, more significant risks. As Eleanor Roosevelt advised, "Do one thing every day that scares you."
Calculated risks are essential. Leaders must learn to be "cost calculators," weighing the pros and cons before making decisions. While not every risk will lead to success, failure is not the end; it's a necessary teacher. Embracing uncertainty, delegating responsibility, and encouraging team members to be brave are all practical steps to cultivate a habit of bravery. Remember:
- Small steps lead to big bounds.
- Uncertainty is part of the job.
- Failure is not the end of the world.
- Confidence is a necessary ingredient for courage.
6. Strive for Excellence: Set High Standards and Commit to Completion
“Great leaders are great finishers.”
Excellence is a scary standard. Establishing a habit of excellence means setting benchmarks that genuinely challenge and even scare you, rather than merely aiming to be "as good as the next guy." This pursuit of the best, as exemplified by Coach Nick Saban's "competing against perfection," drives leaders and organizations from competence to exceptionalism. Excellence is about consistent effort and striving for potential, not just winning.
Execution is paramount. Ideas are overrated; what truly matters is the ability to take an idea from concept to completion. Many leaders are great initiators but struggle with execution, procrastinating or giving up before finishing. In today's leadership climate, committing to completion is non-negotiable. As Henry Ford said, "You can't build a reputation on what you're going to do."
Practical steps for completion:
- Craft a plan and create accountability: Assign co-leaders and define clear next steps.
- Identify your productive time: Lean into your most effective hours for focused work.
- Reward completion: Recognize those who drive projects to the finish line, not just those who initiate.
- "Get 'er done" mindset: Foster a culture of action over endless meetings and discussions.
- Demand feedback: Actively seek input on how to improve, even when it's uncomfortable.
- Constantly improve: Guard against complacency and push for continuous betterment.
7. Persevere with Discipline: Embrace the Long View and Stick-with-it-ness
“Long obedience in the same direction, as Eugene Peterson says.”
Discipline builds legacy. In an age of instant gratification, leaders must cultivate "stick-with-it-ness" by taking the long view. This means being disciplined in the now, in the little things, and in the most important aspects of life. Perseverance transforms "microwave leaders" into "Crock-Pot leaders," who understand that true influence and success are gained over time through consistent effort and diligence.
Regiment your day effectively. To foster stick-with-it-ness, leaders need to manage their time wisely. This involves regimenting your day, identifying how you spend your time, and setting maximum limits for tasks. It's crucial to prioritize for productivity, ensuring that the most important items receive the most time and energy, while removing distractions and temptations.
Crash through quitting points. Every journey has moments of pain and discouragement. Leaders must learn to push past these "quitting points," committing to just a little more effort when tempted to give up. This builds stamina and resilience. Remember to balance discipline with flexibility, allowing for occasional breaks and rewards to prevent burnout, while always keeping both daily and legacy goals in sight.
8. Build a Thriving Team: Foster a Culture of Value and Collaboration
“When you prioritize your team, your team will prioritize you.”
People are paramount. A leader's effectiveness is directly tied to the health and motivation of their team. Prioritizing your team means treating them like family, honoring their contributions, and creating an environment where they feel valued and appreciated. This fosters loyalty and engagement, leading to greater success for the organization. As Pat Gelsinger views his company as a "church," leaders have an incredible opportunity to impact lives.
Cultivate a positive environment. Leaders are responsible for the workplace culture. A positive work environment, characterized by respect, clear communication, and opportunities for growth, attracts and retains top talent. Small touches, like quality amenities or team-building experiences, can significantly boost morale. Conversely, "morale killers" like excessive meetings, unmet promises, or a lack of self-awareness from the leader can quickly sour a team.
Collaborate for greater impact. Partnerships, whether with colleagues or even competitors, are crucial for achieving significant results. Collaboration allows for diverse perspectives, identifies potential flaws, and leverages complementary skill sets. Leaders must actively seek out alliances, share resources, and foster an open-source mentality. This means being willing to give as much as you get, setting clear expectations, and celebrating others' successes to combat jealousy and foster unity.
9. Prioritize Well-being: Create Margin and Healthy Rhythms
“The more margin in your life, the more room you have to let your rhythms run.”
Margin creates options. Margin is the unscheduled space in your life that allows for stillness, Sabbath, and flexibility. It's a powerful habit that creates opportunities for reflection, growth, and pursuing dreams. Without margin, leaders become overbooked, stressed, and prone to burnout, losing their joy and effectiveness. Lomenick's sabbatical was a "hard reset" that allowed him to re-engineer his daily rhythms and regain his smile.
Stillness and Sabbath are essential. Leaders, like Jesus, need solitude to connect with God and gain perspective. Stillness is a discipline that must be practiced, allowing you to stop moving, working, and problem-solving. Sabbath is more than just rest; it's a weekly pause for spiritual receptivity and connection with God. These practices are not indulgent but are vital investments in a healthier tempo for life and leadership.
Manage time for well-being. To create margin, leaders must effectively manage their time by:
- Recording activities: Understand where your time actually goes.
- Sketching a schedule: Allot specific times for tasks and stick to them.
- Prioritizing for productivity: Focus on the most important items and eliminate non-essentials.
- Including interruptions: Build in buffer time for unexpected events.
- Committing to the "three F's": Devote ample time to faith, family, and friends.
- Making sleep a priority: Recognize rest as crucial for fresh vision and sustained energy.
10. Leave a Lasting Legacy: Practice Generosity and Plan for Succession
“The best way to shore up your legacy is to effectively hand it off to your successors.”
Generosity defines legacy. Generosity is a holistic posture that animates everything a leader does, extending beyond financial giving to include time, treasure, and talent. It's about stewarding what you possess and liberally giving it away, recognizing that true success involves helping others succeed. This "giving mind-set" attracts top talent, builds strong partnerships, and constructs a lasting, revered reputation.
Succession is powerful. Too many leaders cling to their positions, but the best leaders understand the power in passing the baton. Effective succession planning, started sooner than you think necessary, ensures the organization thrives after your departure and reflects positively on your leadership. Frank Blake's seamless transition from Home Depot CEO exemplifies how intentional planning and promoting from within can secure a legacy.
Intentional giving and letting go:
- Be generous with power: Delegate authority and responsibility to develop future leaders.
- Be generous with time: Invest in listening to and supporting your team, especially during challenges.
- Be generous with expertise: Share your knowledge freely, empowering others rather than making yourself indispensable.
- Be generous with praise: Offer genuine encouragement and recognition.
- Be generous with access: Maintain an open-door policy, making yourself available to your team.
- Get out of the way: When it's time, leave cleanly and with dignity, speaking well of the new leadership.
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