How To Lead With Excellence?

If you don’t read this your competition will.

A true leader sees the value in a challenge, read on if the is true of you. 

Michelangelo could see potential, an angel in every block of marble, and what he needed to do to establish himself as credible was to chip away, day by day, 1% at a time, at that block to create something wonderful.  

The Stoics, practical philosophers of ancient Greece and Rome, also shared a similar philosophy. Although, they focused primarily on the particular virtues necessary to go from a vision of potential to an end, some wonderful and credible result. 

So first we must assert that credibility is the foundation of leadership. 

And to achieve a more credible state and thus lead with excellence, we must embody certain virtues or higher skills.

The higher virtues in question are humility and courage. 

So then, the path to more credibility, that is, to have the trust, respect, ability to influence others and generate prosperous outcomes comes from the application of humility and courage.

Humility-a non egoist, non arrogant state. Consider Socrates most influential quote “I am the wisest man, for I know one thing. I know nothing. 

The purest form of humility is that you know, honestly and sincerely, where you are at and where you aspire to be and what it’s going to take to get there. 

Courage is the quality of mind and spirit that enables a person to feel pain yet push through it, ascending. 

When both humility- understanding one’s position honestly and sincerely is coupled with courage-pushing through pain and fear, greatness ensues. 

Two men spring to mind when you think of leadership, credibility and these virtues, one Anthony Joshua and one Connor McGregor. Arguably two of the most popular figures of recent times. Sporting fan or not, both men have expressed these virtues boldy of late. Just recently Joshua faced his greatest foe to date, Vladimir Klitschko. Half way through their gruelling boxing bout Joshua was hit with a powerful shot to the head, dropping him to his knees, the first time in his career. What happened next was a thing of beauty, Joshua rose to his feet, cleared his head and proceeded to end the fight via knock out in the later stages. McGregor’s situation took a different path. With what seemed like an entire nation behind him, he appeared unbeatable. With an impressively lengthy win streak under his belt, no one truly expected what was to unfold in his next bout. Connor dominated the first round but seemed to go into the second with less vigour. After a few minutes his opponent upped the pace, landing a flurry of strikes. McGregor panicked and his opponent capitalised. The mystique was gone and fans were shocked, but that was not the end of Mr McGregor. He held his head high and in the rematch gave his all, wining the clash. 

In both scenarios each man was faced with a choice, become more credible or not? All variables aside, this is what it boiled down to, one decision, but in that decision maintains a sea of possibility. 

Joshua knew he had been rocked and that it would take time, patience and two rounds of slow paced, non entertaining, strategically approached rounds before he could get his head right for him to win the bout. In Connor’s case, he did lose, the hype was diminished. He had to face the fans, media, his family and coaches. He went home, examined his approach and knew that in the first round he had been reactive to the crowd, inefficient with his energy output and gave the fans what they wanted, the showman, which ultimately lead to his demise. The new approach: to keep a level head, be efficient with his energy systems and pick his punches intelligently. This of course worked out as he won, elevating his credibility and stature. 

You and I may not be athletes, nor may we be faced with a combative situation that forces us to examine intensely our moral fibre, but we are human beings, and we too have the same inclination to be our best selves.

We all lead on some level and we can all benefit from being more credible, from being better leaders. All we need to do is apply the same timeless approach as great artists, ancient philosophers and current sporting heroes, which is:

STEP 1-Have a vision. 

Have a vision for you, your career, how you want to be perceived by others, and ultimately your legacy. 

STEP 2-Reflect with humility.

Irrespective of your status, power, influence, achievements, finances and success, know that in order to grow you must not allow those factors to cloud your vision or judgements, because that is the greatest travesty to one’s capability. 

Remember Socrates: I am a wise man, for I know one thing. I know nothing. 

Examine your situation, and state honestly and sincerely, like both Joshua and McGregor had to, where am I right now and what is the current limitation standing in the way of my vision?

For Joshua it was keeping a level head and not engaging in a brawl, for McGregor is was allowing his lifestyle, ego and fame to overshadow his intellect and legacy. 

You will have different limitations. You may require:

-the help of another

-training

-better health

-more compassion for your employees

-to speak less and listen more

-new goals

STEP 3-Act with courage.

When you have an accurate and honest assessment of your current state, you must face it with courage, and not allow it to defeat you. You may have to make some serious adjustments to your manner, your life and how you live, and that takes strength. But in those moments you are laying the foundations of you legacy, all that is left is to act. 

To Clarify

Vision

Reflect with humility 

Act with courage 

HERE IS YOUR CHALLENGE. 

If you want to become a better leader and have the influence, respect and credibility to achieve you visions and aims in life then apply this approach. 

-Take it into the board room.

-Find time to journal in silence alone. 

-Make it part of your staff’s protocol. 

-Witness the results. 

*Apply Michelangelo’s 1% rule, and every week, whether alone or in a team, aim to chip away at your limitations and watch as the marble turns from an incomprehensible piece of nothing to a profound work of art.

It is no chance occurrence that this strategy is used by many great figures, both past and present. You can either think you are beyond it and lose, or approach it with an enthusiastic intellect knowing fully the fruits it will bare. 

We all have the capacity to do great things, but vision, decision, humility and courage will ultimately define our fate. 

How will you lead?