As I reflect back on my career and on leaders that I have known I’m struck that the things I’m most proud of and the successes I’ve seen in others has not been driven by the things I would have expected as a young man; ambition, charisma, vision, analytical skills, etc. These things are important ingredients in a recipe for success. But, ingredients in a recipe are not much good unless you know what you are ultimately trying to create.
Ultimately, as I think about when I have been most successful, it was in situations when I have been tightly aligned with a set of core principals; I have had my most success when I have been the most authentic, when I focused on how to build credibility, when I have invested time in building other people as part of a legacy that I want to leave and when I watch and groom my character. When I focus on these things as a way to measure myself as a person and a leader, I can then apply things like charisma or vision or analytical skills toward leadership success.
When I teach business school I often ask students why they want to be entrepreneurs or CEOs. Too often they struggle with the answer and often end up with some description of wealth or independence. These are fine aspirations. But, I can say with confidence that focusing on “getting wealthy” or any other material outcome is a very unproductive way to actually achieve these things! And, even if you do achieve material success, if it comes without a life grounded in core principles, it will leave you very unsatisfied. Without exception, the people I know who measure success by material success are never “done” – they are constantly chasing the next level and are generally not very happy. Most people who have achieved great material success are actually people that have focused almost no attention on that goal! While they may use different words, they have focused on authenticity (their passion for a certain business problem), credibility, legacy and are guided by consistent principles!
Over time I’ll dedicate blogs to each of these concepts.