10 Practices for Elite Leadership
Many people perceive that leaders are born, not made. In fact, leaders are no different than athletes. Some athletes may have some natural talent but it’s their daily commitment to working on their craft that gets them to the highest level. Some people may have innate leadership talents — perhaps higher EQ for one — but, in truth, everyone has the ability to practice the skills required to lead at the highest levels.
Although I had the opportunity to see and learn leadership while working in leadership “training-grounds,” I always struggled to find a model that worked for me, let alone my own version of leadership. However, through years of studying, mentorship and “showing up” to work at it, I found a number of practices seem to consistently work. For those of you who share in this struggle with leadership, here are a few of them.
1. Know Your “Why.” Leadership is ultra-distance sport. If you are not clear on why you are here and deeply committed to it, you’ll gas-out. Take the time now. Explore what you value. What impact do you wish to have on the world? Articulate what gives you meaning in life. Think about what you want to achieve, and why its deeply important to you. Then, make that the foundation of your work as a leader. If you’re a product manager who loves the outdoors and cares about our environment, find a company with shared values and a culture to support it, such as REI or Patagonia.
2. Trust. According to research by Shockley-Zalabak, Morreale and Hackman in Building the High-Trust Organization, high trust organizations outperform low trust organizations by 286%. A Price-Waterhouse Coopers study on innovation concluded that trust was the top factor differentiating leading innovation companies from bottom feeders. Giving trust automatically builds trust. Creating trust takes time but leaders can jump-start it by being vulnerable and trusting others. One powerful way to do this is to share information about yourself, your dreams, goals and concerns.
3. Listen. In my opinion, many leaders talk too much when what they really should do is listen, ask smart questions, listen again, clarify and then take action to support their people. Deep listening is magical for all involved. Listening followed by action is miraculous.
4. Build broad, genuine connection. There is nothing as powerful as a leader who takes time to get to know and actively listen to people. I know one executive in an investment firm who gives hand-written holiday notes to over 600 people each year. He had connected personally with everyone from the executive leadership team to the janitor, a fellow soccer fanatic. He took time to get to know them, listen to their perspectives and, when necessary, support them. Not only was he rewarded with responsive, loyal people, but he gained great friendships and life experiences.
5. Focus on Your Strengths. Think about the work you were doing when you lost yourself in it and, without knowing it, outpaced everyone in the room. Bonus: Find the cross-section between that work and what gives you meaning. Equally, accept the areas or work where you are not as strong and need support. The sooner you accept these blind spots, the sooner you can get help and refocus on your strengths.
6. Let People Run. Dr. Edward Deci, a director of the human motivation program and University of Rochester and Author of Why We Do What We Do: Understanding Self-Motivation, identified autonomy — the ability to self-direct one’s work — is one of three critical intrinsic motivators. Yet, despite the rich and recent science on human motivation and performance from Deci and many others, leaders struggle to free their people to approach their work as they choose. A quick study of the creative, passionate and productive cultures at Patagonia and Google should convince nearly any leader to enable autonomy.
7. Walk the talk. People are always watching leaders. Leaders must consistently align how they act with the values shared by the team and company. If innovation is a shared value, you pursue new, better products, services and underlying processes. If they value spectacular results for clients, you create the conditions for your people to do exceptional work. In all cases, you set a high bar and the example every day.
8. Challenge Yourself & Your Team. Steven Kotler, author of The Rise of Superman, notes from a recent McKinsey study that leaders are five times more productive when in a flow state at work. According to Kotler, one way to drive this flow is to increase the challenge just 4% above the highest levels of current performance. Increasing the stress to a point where it’s challenging but achievable ignites the mind toward a deeper level of focus. A leader can do this by asking a team to do something a bit uncomfortable, like speed the time to market on a project. Or asking someone who isn’t comfortable speaking to present in an open forum.
9. Tell stories. Stories are at the center of the human experience. Jim Donald, the former CEO of Starbucks Coffee, told memorable stories to affirm Starbucks values. In one large open forum, he shared the story of a candidate who was surprised to learn executives didn’t have private restrooms. “You know what we did with him?” he teased. “Yep… We flushed him…. Right out the door!” The crowd roared, affirming that no one is above the Barista at Starbucks.
10. Affirm the Purpose and Mission. When the team is heads down driving results, they can lose their view of their larger purpose and the tangible mission they are pursuing. Take a moment to lift their heads and refocus them on your collective purpose. Articulate the purpose, paint a clear picture of the mission and link it to the work at hand. People will feel a renewed sense of purpose and clarity.
Forgetting all of the above, the honest truth about leadership is — and I’m not a fan of the word — it’s a journey. Yes, leadership is practice. Mastery of anything — sports or leadership — is elusive at best. So breath and make the most of the moment. Make self-acceptance and patience your mantra. Value progress over perfection and you will slowly start to see your world transform around you.
