Perfectly imperfect
Ever heard of Wabi Sabi? (If you have not, you can click here and read more about the concept from Thomas Oppong).
It is Japanese concept that can be summarized by the following..."Nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect."
I believe we can and should apply this concept to all aspects of our lives including leadership. How often are we creating anxiety and stress in our lives and the lives of others by striving for and expecting perfection?
Isn't this at the root of most of our frustration? Don't we all expect our teams to execute our strategies flawlessly so that we see the exact results we drew on the whiteboard in that meeting? How often does this happen? Why do we continue to expect it?
Perhaps there is a possibility that leaders could and should celebrate the way things are rather than how they should be. Is it possible that allowing others to develop and execute their own plans, while not as brilliant as ours (sarcasm intended), would actually produce a better result? I guess it depends on what the ultimate goal might be.
Is your legacy to grow others into leaders or to leave a stranded group of followers? Developing leaders requires that we support others into becoming the best version of them...not a poor copy of us. All leaders are fundamentally flawed. Great leaders are the ones who are self-aware and embrace their own shortcomings and show others how to do to the same...gracefully.
What are we afraid of? Do we need to continue to push to perfection? Is this the goal of leadership? What impact does that leave on those we care for?
I am left with more questions than answers. That said, I do believe we will all be better for considering bigger questions that expand our thoughts past achieving results and more towards our impact on people.
As is the case with most things, this is simple not easy. This is the hard work that it takes to lead and that is no bullshit. If it were easy, everyone would do. It is not and not many do.
If you choose to, you are one of The Relentless Few and I am grateful for your leadership...the world needs it.