The Polish Envelop

A simple yet powerful model has inspired my entire life of helping brilliant leaders fulfill their potential: the "Polish envelop". Polish refers to polishing one's skills of course, but the initial meaning is a tribute to an old Polish professor I met in the early 90's.

Let's characterize an executive life with two simple axes: what you dedicate your energy and intensity to, and time elapsing. At a beginning of a promising career, you dedicate 100% of your energy to your individual success. Because you're good, you're rapidly given a team. And progressively, you start sharing your effort between being a great individual performer and the best possible team leader. Your team. Yet, the success of others' team is none of your concern. Even worse, if they fail, by contrast yours and you will shine even more. That's where many good managers get stuck, and never make it to real leadership ("doing the right thing, rather than doing things right" as Warren Bennis coined it).

There is indeed a third dimension. How much do I contribute to others' success?

How I can contribute - beyond my own success and my team success - to others' success is a true trademark of successful leaders, and a potential shortcoming of failed ones.

If you don't have time or opportunity to run a full 360° for executives, there is a simple, powerful exercise that can help you spot this capability with leaders. Whoever you meet from your organization in the next two weeks, ask them two simple questions: (a) "Is there anyone you would like to thank for having helped you progress in your professional life?" (b) "What is your connection to this person today?". The answer to this second question might vary a lot, between "I am her peer today" to "He is still my boss today". This question helps you part those who groom leaders and those who groom only followers.

That's why I would associate leadership to abnegation, a pretty more actionable trait than humility, however superbly discussed by my inspiring friend Santiago Iniguez in his recent post. And abnegation, seen as the contribution to someone else's success, and sometimes the renunciation to be credited for your own action, opens the door to workplace friendship and social satisfaction at work - a defining driver of engagement.