“An individual has not started living until he or she can rise above the narrow confines of his or her individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr.
Leaders who consistently rise above their narrow, individualistic concerns are extremely rare. This is why I often refer to them as the Top-7%.
There are two keys when evaluating this broad, ambiguous competency. First; is the leader consistent in seeking the broader concerns for larger, unrelated groups of people; not, just the people within his or her circles of influence?
Second, is the leader able to rise above his or her individualistic concerns on major, jugular issues? Many leaders have the ability to rise above their individualistic concerns on non-major issues, but often stumble when making larger, jugular decisions.
How does this competency, which is highly interconnected in both our professional and personal lives, expose itself?
Unfortunately, this complex competency isn’t easy to observe, until we travel through the “valleys” or “deserts” in our lives. Many leaders appear to have this competency (through the use of their language and actions on non-jugular decisions) during the good times or even the “not so bad” times.
This can all change during the tough times!
Imagine you’re in an oasis (an analogy for the good times in your life), you’re buying dinner, drinks, etc. for everyone and they just love you as a boss (professional example) or significant other (personal example).
Then, a jugular decisions needs to be made. If you take the individualistic concern route, you get to stay in the oasis; and basically say, “the hell with the rest of you, I need to protect myself”. However, you know, doing the right thing, will likely result in you being asked to leave the oasis. In which case, you’ll need to travel an unknown, likely to be unkind journey through a desert in life.
I believe, it is only during these “desert trips”, that we uncover who we genuinely are as leaders. More importantly, we’ll discover, with whom we’ve surrounded ourselves.
The laws of attraction always (yes, always) play out long-term. They seldom play out in the short or intermediate term.
The more deserts people are willing to travel with you, the more strongly the laws of attraction become evident.
Executive, jugular decisions are flat out difficult. If you’re able to do the right thing (despite the ramification to you or your organization) and stay in the oasis, you, your Board and the executives around you have built a first-rate culture. Unfortunately, this is quite rare. We routinely observe when negative news goes public about a company, often, leaders are asked to leave the oasis. They must begin travelling through a desert of unknowns.
Interestingly, since our professional lives are highly intertwined with our personal lives, deserts often appear simultaneously in our professional and personal lives.
Three key things happen during these desert trips:
1.We grow the most as a leader.
2.The laws of attraction intensify and the best people in our lives emerge.
3.The laws of attraction intensify and “oasis only” people soon part with you.
Which leader are you on the jugular issues?
Who changes the world? I believe it’s almost exclusively the Top-7%. They are the only ones with the Talent Portfolios and social consciences needed to actually implement significant positive social impact. If you believe you’re one of these executives, we’d love to explore possible opportunities.
Get Making A Difference! ~ JR