As someone who practices, teaches, and preaches the gospel of leadership, I’m sometimes taken aback at the sheer quantity of people and organizations hocking leadership in some form like a common snake oil salesman. I shouldn’t be surprised – each year, more than $60 billion is invested in corporate leadership development. In the past week alone, I’ve had offers of professional coaching, phone consultations to help me “find my leadership voice,” and invitations to several leadership development conferences.
The return on investment from these programs is debatable. While they’ll gleefully tell you their success stories, it’s really not that simple. The true measure of success comes with a pre-installed time-delay fuse. In other words, it might be years before you see the dividends from that investment. That doesn’t sell as well, so you likely won’t hear that when someone is pitching their miracle remedy to your leadership woes.
The Three Cs of Leadership
This phenomenon was summed up well in a 2022 Forbes article from Greg Henderson: “If you Google the word leadership, you’ll probably get billions of results.” That figure might be conservative. Leadership is probably the subject most written about by people who know the least about it. Therein lies the problem. How do you know which remedy or cure to buy? Which one is actually going to cure your ills?
The answer is to find your foundation and build from there. And you don’t have to pay to do that. Henderson, an Army veteran turned Forbes Council member, offers the foundation so many of us have come to embrace, the military definition of leadership: “Leadership is the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation to accomplish the mission and improve the organization.” From there, he shares some timeless Army wisdom, the ubiquitous “3Cs of leadership.”
- Competence: As obvious as it may seem – except maybe to the oblivious – competence is a non-negotiable. The old Army model of Be-Know-Do applies, and competence addresses the “know” part of that equation. The best leaders translate a passion for lifelong learning into unparalleled competence.
- Commitment: In the Army, commitment is a measure of resolve – the resolute focus on duty, honor, and country. Outside the ranks of the military, commitment still matters. A leader’s dedication to the success of the organization and its people is essential.
- Character: Leaders set an example that everyone sees and most people emulate, for good or bad. You want it to be good. It’s not just knowing what is legally, morally, and ethically right, it’s living those values each and every day.
10 Leadership Truisms
As you continue to build on that foundation, some structure inevitably emerges. For me, that structure came in the form of truisms I picked up over three decades of military service. Not of those truisms were particularly mind-blowing and most were shared over a hot cup of coffee or learned through humbling experience. But no matter where I went or what I did, they endured the test of time.
1. Data without context is dangerous.
In his book, The Signal and the Noise, Nate Silver drives this point home. Everybody wants to talk about data literacy and the necessity of making data-informed decisions. However, most people continue to act on raw data – data that is being interpreted out of context and lacks the significance of the big picture. That’s just as risky as not making a decision at all.
2. You’ll be judged on results, not intentions.
“The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” You may have meant well, but you’re going to be evaluated based on the outcomes or consequences of your choices, not your underlying motives. Focus on outcomes, because you’re going to be held accountable for the results.
3. Your team’s growth and improvement are your legacy.
In the same way parents are often judged by the behavior and actions of their children, your leadership legacy is fundamentally tied to the performance and development of the next generation. Your legacy is measured in the success of your proteges.
4. Adapt or die.
Westfield Whip Manufacturing is often cited as the last company that continued to produce buggy whips the longest, even after the rise of the automotive industry. Leaders thrive and continue to maintain relevance because they have a single powerful trait at their disposal: they are adaptive. Don’t be remembered as the buggy whip maker among leaders.
5. Your reputation is your brand.
Take a moment and you can probably name any number of talented colleagues who failed to achieve their professional potential. In most cases, it came down to an unwillingness or inability to reflect inwardly, to see themselves how others perceived them. Taking control of your personal leader brand has the potential to fundamentally change how others perceive you, but it also translates to an incredible sense of power and liberation. Good or bad, it’s your personal brand. Own it. Make it count.
6. Transparency builds trust.
It’s a relatively simple formula: secrecy triggers suspicion, suspicion fuels the rumor mill, and the rumor mill degrades culture. As leaders, we have to maintain a delicate balance between what we can share and what we should But, too often, we err on the side of caution and don’t share. At all. Or what we do share is perceived as contrived or disingenuous. The cone of silence will destroy your team. Remember that.
7. Ethics aren’t situational, they’re foundational.
Once you step off the path of ethical behavior – even if you believe your reasoning is sound – there’s little chance of turning back. Once you lose focus on the principles that underlie ethical decision-making, ethical fading kicks in, your credibility suffers, your team loses trusts, and your effectiveness as a leader is gone.
8. You’re the voice of reason, not popularity.
In his book, The Likability Factor, author Tim Sanders notes that being liked increases your chances of being promoted, helps to drive special projects and initiatives your way, and builds a sense of trust and loyalty among your subordinates. But there’s a thin gray line between likability and respect. It’s great to be liked, but it cannot come at the expense of being respected. Leadership isn’t a popularity contest.
9. Your influence extends far beyond your office walls.
Your ability to impact others isn’t limited by the physical boundaries of your workplace. Actions and decisions create a ripple effect that is felt across the organization, your network, and the wider community, regardless of whether you hold a position of authority. You want that influence to be positive and productive, not cringe-worthy.
10. Every decision has consequences.
Every choice you make – large or small – inevitably leads to some kind of result or impact, positive or negative. No matter what you might think, you cannot escape the consequences of your decisions. What you can control, however, is the thought behind those decisions. Each and every truism on this list contributes to the thinking necessary to ensure that the outcomes of your decisions are positive.
Once you’ve checked the block on each item, keep one last foundational truth in mind: Simplicity is a principle of war for a reason. This is my own personal mantra. If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough to execute. If everyone doesn’t clearly understand the “why” and the “what” to be accomplished, the odds of failure increase. And if people continue to ask you to explain or define your intent, it’s too complicated. Embrace the KISS principle. It might be your last saving grace.
