There is an abundance of books, training, and programs written to share the secrets of success or becoming successful.
Like many other things in life, leadership is far more complex, entangled, and nuanced than you can imagine.
I was fortunate to work for a fortune 100 company when I first started my leadership career in finance after returning from working as an ESL teacher in China 11 years ago. I have been a professional speaker, coach, and consultant for about three years now, and it's been a real awakening. I realize that the person I was a minute ago or even the man I am as I type this right now is not the same. The person I've become through entrepreneurship and my commitment to lead with impact — is very different from the person I was. If we allow it, the act of leadership itself can be a real game-changer.
I'll explain it.
Leaders are made, not born. Every day, we have the fresh opportunity to make ourselves into leaders through our thoughts and, perhaps even more important, through our actions. When I look back three years, I see how different my thought patterns were back then compared to how they are now and their effect on my business trajectory. I used to believe that I played a small part in the impact of organizations' innovation, resilience, growth, and culture.
Fast forward to today, I no longer believe that. I have hands-on experience— and clearly understand the importance leadership development plays in creating the business's culture and business. And because I can understand my part, I'm also able to see the essential roles others play in developing leaderships to lead with confidence and clarity.
Be vulnerable
As Howard Schultz says, "You have to be honest and authentic and not hide. I think the leader today has to demonstrate both transparency and vulnerability, and with that comes truthfulness and humility."
The essence of leadership is personal development. The willingness to lead with awareness, lead with attention and mindfully, and be committed to your integrity. Today, leadership must embrace and model vulnerability. The world we engage in now requires a different type of leader, a leader that can be vulnerable.
Be empathetic
You cannot effectively lead someone if you don't expand your capacity to understand. Without empathy, you cannot build a team or cultivate an environment for people to thrive. In fact, in 2019, 72 percent of CEOs said the state of workplace empathy needs to change, a 15-point increase over the last two years. As workplace empathy expectations evolve, one constant is the value of compassion in promoting employee engagement and retention.
Be collaborative
In my experience, leadership is a collaborative effort. Ever heard that saying, "if your the smartest in the room, then you are in the wrong room."? The message is always to be seeking to expand and be better. It is a powerful practice used to unite teams and inspire innovation within the organization. By engaging in collective intelligence, you can share ideas, speak freely—resulting in achieved results across organizational boundaries.
In closure, while there is much more to leadership than I've unpacked here, these are three things that I've found to be true in my leadership journey.