As a leader, you have the responsibility, the duty, to drive towards a greater vision of the future, and to do it with all you’ve got.
Great leaders are defined by those they support and serve, and the impact they leave when they are gone. They light up and energise those around them, serving as catalysts to spark drive and passion.
A great deal of leadership is about change: how we inspire it, how we adapt to it, and how the greatest of all leaders use their intelligence to shift from surviving to thriving and creating an abundant future.
“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” ― Albert Einstein
In practice, this means coming up against uncertainty, unpredictability, and multi-faceted resource challenges and seeing the opportunities within. To do this, one must find, nurture and surround themselves with the people and the processes that will lead to continual collective betterment.
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.” ― Leon C. Megginson
In my 20 year career, I have found that the strongest leaders face these challenges head-on, with an unwavering positive spirit, and backed by a strong tribe. These leaders know that surrounding themselves with the right people and the right communities is one of the most critical steps to achieving success.
From new talent, to clients, to suppliers and partners, who you surround yourself with matters.
Identifying the right individuals for your ‘tribe’, however, takes work, discipline and sticking to your core values. Therefore, it’s not just a matter of finding
the right communities, but evaluating them to make sure they align with your purpose and values, and embody these through their decisions. (One tool we have found can underpin this is the Mindsets Scorecard, from Strategic Coach, which you can read about here.)
Cultivating and nurturing a tribe that propels everyone in the direction of a shared vision begins with sharing what you believe.
Start by sharing your purpose, your mindsets, and, of course, your capabilities. Don’t wait until you have them all perfect. If you only have a half articulated set, go ahead and share it, talk about it, write about it. Explore the ways others react. Do their eyes light up, do they lean in, do they ask questions? As you begin to have deeper conversations about purpose, mindsets and ambitions, you will discover and hone the rest.
It will become natural, empowering, and rewarding to share your purpose as you discover more about what drives you. Spend time quietly reflecting, and then discuss with others. Go to events and meetings where there’s a possibility of finding individuals or teams with complementary purposes. Discover those who share your mindset, and where their capabilities combined with yours can take you to new places and bigger impact.
Once you have begun the intentional sharing of your bigger purpose, mindsets, and capabilities, you’ll start to see new possible partners appear.
For each one, ask yourself, “Does this new partner encourage me to strive harder? Do they give me energy?, Do I give them energy? Could we build a better future together than alone?”
Ensure that their values and mindsets mesh with yours. Perhaps you will begin to re-asses individuals who are already in your tribe and your life. It’s up to you to discover the ways to get the very best out of those who surround you.
This process is like a muscle. To be powerful it requires exercise, fuel and practice, and intentional experimentation with testing and validation.
Over time, it will become easier to identify and evaluate potential talent to join your tribe. As you go along, you’ll start to discover the new things that are possible when working with a tribe with a shared purpose.
“If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” – African proverb.
From there, though, there’s a more exciting step that is not even predictable from where we stand now.
Past the first wave of any collaboration lies the “adjacent possible.” Within this adjacent possible lie hundreds of successes and innovations ready for discovery.
Building an effective tribe as a leader is a dance between certainty and uncertainty. It requires making decisions on the certainties we see, and leveraging the uncertainties to discover possibilities we hadn’t imagined. A strong leader creates an environment where this can happen, and constantly inspires the best out of us all.
It’s not about working harder to achieve your biggest impact, but it’s about expanding the realm of what’s possible through unlocking the power of others.
One way to get to kick-start the realm of ‘the possible’ is through a LEAPS™ program. We have seen first-hand how motivating and inspiring it can be, and know it can revolutionize a trajectory of greater success for you.
If you want to learn more, please check out our programs or join the conversation on LinkedIn!
