Courage, Curiosity, and Imagination: A Leadership Formula needed to Improve Humanity

For a long time, human beings did not really have a choice about who led them. Kings and feudal lords seized power with the point of a sword or spear, and the choice was followed or die.

We’ve moved on a bit since then, but we’re not that different to our ancestors from centuries ago.

If you look around at some of the so-called leaders in the world, many are nothing, but small men propped up by big bank accounts. Others are so strident that they drown out everyone who disagrees with them, which fools some people into believing that they’re right, when all they really are loud.

The difference is, more people than ever before have realized what the world could be, and we’re ready for a new breed of leader that not only represents us and our interests, but also has the vision to build that future.

Like most things in life, there’s a formula to leadership, and it’s built on courage, curiosity, and imagination.

Courageous Leadership

?When you look at so called leaders today, you probably notice that many of them are happy to take credit for successes, but quick to deflect the blame for failures. Some simply choose to ignore anything that they don’t believe is successful.

That’s the opposite of courageous leadership.

One of the most well-known fables in American history is about George Washington and the cherry tree. While it’s debatable how accurate that story is, the core of it is courage. Young Washington had the courage to admit his mistake, own it, and learn from it.

Courage, in leadership and in life, is not about being anxious, unsure, or even afraid. It’s about feeling all of those things and doing the right thing anyway.

When we have more leaders in the world that are able to lead with courage, dignity and honesty, we’ll be on the right track.

Curious Leadership

?The next important thing we desperately need in our modern leaders is curiosity.

For millennia, human technology and knowledge advanced slowly, over many centuries. However, in the last 100 years, it’s made vast leaps forward. Things that were once the stuff of science fiction comic books are now part of our daily lives.

In every sphere, from science to art and technology to music, we’re discovering new things all the time.

The secret behind that exponential growth in human knowledge. People who are unafraid to ask how and why, and to keep searching until they find answers.

Doing things, the same way we’ve always done them, just because we’re comfortable with it is the antithesis of innovative leadership.

We need curious leaders who are not afraid to try, fail and try again, until they discover or perfect something remarkable. We might not all be scientists or tech gurus, but we can all seek out new and exciting solutions to everyday problems.

Imaginative Leadership

?The final part of the leadership formula for the modern world is imagination, which actually goes hand in hand with curiosity.

Imaginative leaders don’t let history and social acceptance stand in their way. They’re the leaders who embraced work from home, even when they didn’t choose it. They’re the leaders that are building global teams, and who have realized that borders are meaningless in the modern workplace.

Imaginative leaders see their people differently. They look beyond race, social status, and gender. They identify the spark of talent and find new ways to fan the flame.

Walking a Tightrope

Perhaps the biggest problem faced by humanity today is that we all seem to be walking a very dangerous tightrope. As the two sides of the social coin move further and further apart, it gets harder to balance.

There are some people and leaders out there who desperately want to cling to the past. They’re comfortable in their routine. They like the status quo, and they’re vehemently opposed to change.

Unless we have equally impactful and powerful leaders working against this kind of regression, there’s no telling where we will find ourselves in the next ten or twenty years.

However, many of the problems we’re facing now have also reached the tipping point.

People living in poverty are fed up and are demanding change. Social movements like Me Too and Black Lives Matter are pouring gas on already raging flames of discontent among the marginalized and disenfranchised. Every time there’s another mass shooting in the United States, more voices are raised in outrage.

We need leaders who are willing to listen to those voices, step outside their comfort zone, and start making real change.

Change How We Choose Leaders

One of the biggest reasons why we’ve been saddled with mediocre leaders for far too long is that we’ve allowed people in power to dictate what qualifies them to lead.

As long as leadership is synonymous with generational wealth, attending the right college and golfing at the right country club, we’ll all be stuck with people who have no business making their own decisions, let alone deciding for the rest of us.

Dr. Terry Jackson is Executive Advisor, Thought Leader Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coach, Top 10 Global Mentor, and Thinkers50 Top 50 Global Coach Transformation Coach. Dr. Jackson partners with Executives and Organizations to align Strategy, People and Processes to transform and sustain Peak Business Performance.