Do you have to be narcissistic to succeed? Activate your Wild Bold Power [#Wise Wednesdays]

Judging by recent election results, it might seem like success benefits from narcissistic or "dark triad" traits (narcissism, machiavellianism, sociopathy i.e. manipulation, lying, and low capacity for empathy or guilt).

In the corporate world, the higher up you go in the echelons of leadership, the more prevalent these traits become. About 3-4% of corporate executives score high on measures of psychopathy—compared to about 1% in the general population, according to some studies.

In highly competitive environments, these traits help with risk taking and gaining recognition (though not necessarily with building meaningful, long term relationships.)

For example, James Brown, one of the most influential performing artists in modern music was also known as “the hardest-working man in showbiz” and displayed narcissistic and abusive tendencies. However, he was able to overcome deprivation, childhood trauma, and racism to become extremely successful.

So does that mean you need to be a narcissist to succeed?

I don’t think so.

Activate your Wild Bold Power (WiBoP)

To realise your unique vision and disrupt the status quo—whether for your life or the world you want to co-create—a certain amount of boldness and focus are necessary.?

This can be a quiet boldness—like a steady resolve in expressing a novel perspective and embedding it in the? fabric of reality. You don’t have to be the loudest voice in the room.

Activating this boldness and focus also means doing the mindset work and decolonising the mind from unhealthy self-doubt, self-criticism, and paralysing fear or anxiety—patterns that arise from living in a world shaped by inequality, conflict, and the forces of patriarchal capitalism (see the coaching questions below).

Let’s call this quality Wild, Bold Power—or your WiBoP!

The future is a place to come from (not a place to get to)

Unlike a narcissist, this bold and focused mindset is underpinned by a clear vision that includes you AND goes beyond you.?

If you read Wise Wednesdays, it’s likely that a big vision of a better world already lives in you.?

But it’s also something that you live out daily, moment-to-moment - not at some distant time in the future.

What does that mean in practice?

Take someone like Martin Luther King Jr. It's not about the religion or politics but?the impact of his nonviolent approach on evolving society towards more consciousness, fairness and human?dignity. Notice the impact of his bold power?in this?1 minute segment of his mountaintop speech . It was?given the day before he was assassinated.

Facing uncertainty, danger, and death, he was at ease with his vision?because he had ‘been to the future’ (‘I have been to the mountaintop’) and he was only interested in doing his part, whether he lived to see it or not.

Watch the Mountaintop speech (1 minute segment).

While both James Brown and Martin Luther King Jr. faced serious opposition, their approaches to success were vastly different. Brown’s boldness stemmed from personal ambition, whereas Dr. King’s boldness was fuelled by a vision for justice and love that transcended himself.

Time for wild, bold action

It doesn’t matter where you are in your career or life journey. The ups, downs, and messy middles are all part of it.?

Understanding this is a form of Ambiguity Tolerance and it is correlated with inner-peace AND goal success.

I believe that —living as the future you know is possible is the truest form of success. And it starts with living from better questions.

Here are 8 of the most powerful coaching questions I know. Pick ONE to reflect on for 5 minutes. Take? action on any inspiration - no matter how small.

1. What does it look like for you to move with Wild, Bold Power?
2. What’s the future that you see is possible for yourself and/or the world?
3. What will you stop doing today because it no longer serves?
4. What will you start doing today (even if it’s for 5 minutes)?
5. What’s the difficult conversation you need to have?
6. What’s an old limiting belief you need to name, reframe, and release today?
7. What’s the unrealised dream that it’s time to either revive or grieve?
8. What’s the thing you cannot die without having done?

Feel free to share your insights. I read every email personally.

Here’s to your ethical WiBoP!

Have a bold week,

Amina

P.S. Eight years ago this week, I launched the RSA Coaching Network , which became a boldly innovative platform—not only in the type of events we hosted but also in our leadership structure and approach. Join us this Thursday for the final event of the year, where we'll explore the relationship between high performance and social change. Register here >>