Unveiling the 3 Key Traits of Highly Successful Leaders. Part 1 of 3.
Welcome to the three-part series on Inspired Leadership.
Today’s world is a testament to the profound influence of the great leaders of yesteryears. The nation you call home, the liberties and opportunities you cherish, the profession you pursue, the technology you wield, and the social fabric you are a part of all owe their existence to the indelible mark left by past leaders.
Leadership shapes our reality and will continue to do so in the future.
And while the most outstanding leaders create massive impact in the world, we all are leaders in our own right. We all have the capability and capacity to exhibit leadership, and we do this every time we guide a child, support a friend in a conversation, or set an agenda in a meeting. We are all leaders and can benefit from improving our leadership skills.
“If ‘leadership’ has come to be known as something much bigger than us, aligned to changing the world, then we are spending way too much time celebrating things that hardly anyone can do and not celebrating things we can do every day.”
- Drew Dudley founder of Day One leadership
Everyone is a leader, and we can all benefit from developing our leadership capabilities. Particularly within the context of our businesses and work, leadership plays a vital and indispensable role.
All significant progress comes from outstanding leadership; if we examine the business landscape, we see evidence of great leadership everywhere. Think of the impact created by the leadership of Henry Ford, who democratized the automobile, or Richard Branson who stood against the giants of the aviation industry, or Steve Jobs who placed an Apple product into the hands of 64 percent of the American population.
Leadership makes the difference between good and great and helps improve people’s lives.
Similarly, as leaders of our own lives, if we embody the principles of great leadership in our own journeys, we can create matching benefits for ourselves and the other people we are connected to. Better self-leadership will lead to an improved life, a better family dynamic, more success in our work endeavors, as well as a beneficial effect on our inner circle of friends, relatives, and acquaintances.
“You don’t have to hold a position in order to be a leader.”
- Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
Enhancing our leadership ability requires a robust plan along with a conscious effort to develop ourselves as leaders.
The question is, “How do I start?”.
Let us look for inspiration in the story of Nelson Mandela, who exemplifies the leadership capabilities of conviction, resilience, and an unshakeable belief in justice and human rights.
Mandela, or Madiba as he was often known, grew up in apartheid-ridden South Africa, where the predominantly white ruling parties had stripped away the rights of the native African population. He was infused with the need to free his country from the tyranny of colonization and that all people should be free.
In his journey, the government sentenced him to life imprisonment at Robben Island, a remote and rugged, inescapable prison. In his autobiography, “Long Walk To Freedom,” Mandela depicts his 27-year imprisonment and how he ensured his spirit didn’t waver. He sent secret messages smuggled out of the prison on tightly folder paper to his political allies to keep the spirit of freedom alive.
What kept Mandela firm was his strong vision for a free Africa. A vision that burned intensely into his soul and gave him the resilience to endure a life of suffering at the hands of his oppressors.
As the German philosopher Frederick Nietzsche famously said, “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”
Mandela had a very strong “Why” exemplified by his vision. He was prepared to die for a free South Africa. His autobiography details, that when he first entered the prison, he wanted freedom for his people — the black people of South Africa. Over time his philosophy evolved as he realized that his vision was for the ideal of freedom. This required that not only must his people be freed but also their oppressors. He saw that the oppressors were also not free because they were captive to hatred. And while they imprisoned others, they were also imprisoned.
“Freedom is indivisible; the chains on any one of my people were the chains on all of them, the chains on all of my people were the chains on me…. When I walked out of prison that was my mission, to liberate the oppressed and the oppressor both.”
- Nelson Mandela.
Mandela’s vision stood for the freedom of all people, regardless of race, colour, or creed. His vision aligned with the ideal of freedom, not for the freedom of any particular race.
Mandela dreamt a bigger dream.
To answer our question of “How do I start?” We can take heed of Mandela’s example, which tells us that leadership requires a vision — a vision that is so strong and compelling that it will force us to endure the hardships needed to bring that vision to reality.
Rather than looking immediately for the “How”, we must first clarify the “Why”.
“The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.”
- Theodore M. Hesburgh
A strong vision leads to clarity, which leads to conviction, which then leads to the actions required to bring that vision to fruition and more importantly, to bear the inevitable sacrifices and suffering needed on the way.
Our vision gives us strength, courage, conviction, and resilience.
In summary, to develop our leadership capabilities, we first need to understand our “why” and develop a strong and compelling vision that we would like to make real. This vision could be for our work, family, health, or even the world. The context within which the vision is formed is less important than the formation of the vision. Creating the vision of who we want to be in the future and what we wish to experience is the starting point.
The vision that we see comes from our insight, our inner sight. It requires that we spend time questioning deeply, contemplating, and introspecting. Asking questions such as “What is of greatest importance to me?”, “what do I want to bring to reality?” and “What change do I want to create?” can all be helpful. The questions, together with deep reflection can guide us towards developing our vision.
In one sentence — deep insight leads to a compelling vision.
In the next part of this three-part series of articles, I will further develop the journey of Inspired Leadership and give additional stages for the reader. The immediate suggestion is to search for the insight required for the compelling vision to emerge.
