In today’s world of VUCA, leaders need to be even more resilient and versatile to manage the ever-changing situation. Some of the traits needed to succeed may seem contradictory but those are the balances one needs to master. This book specifically discusses eight such paradoxes and shows why they are essential.
- Balance Confidence and Humility: Communicate confident energy and contagious authenticity
- Leverage Vision and Blindspot: Provide proactive target for the team but recognize creative, unconventional thinking
- Embrace Visibility and Invisibility: Know when to show up to lead and when to step back and let others take the spotlights
- Be Stubborn and Open-minded: Hold on stubbornly to your core principles but listen and respond well to other new ideas
- Be deeply personal and inherently collective: Recognize the individuals and the mission
- Be a Teacher and a Learner: Find ways to teach others but also learn from others
- Model High standards and Gracious forgiveness: Set a high bar that you expects of others but show forgiveness to give permission for people to take risk
- Be Timely and Timeless: Keep immediate progress and long-term value
I like the book’s synthesis of these opposing ideas that we need to be mindful of. It just goes to show that the ability to hold two seemingly opposing forces at once is an amazing skill to learn. What other paradoxes do you think a leader need to focus on?