The other day I talked to a CEO of a successful start-up about key ingredients for success. We agreed that leadership is the most important component of building a thriving business. But we found that there is a difference between an average leader and a self-aware or enlightened leader. So then the question arose: what are the key characteristics of an enlightened leader? Below is my take. What’s yours?
Character
Who you are.
Being a strong leader means first and foremost understanding yourself: what you are passionate about, what moves you, what your purpose is, and what you are ultimately trying to build. It also means understanding your team and what it takes to motivate them to execute on your vision. It means knowing your strengths as a leader, recognizing your shortcomings, and working hard on becoming someone who people will follow. Great leaders are not born, they are made. No one is perfect, but having character that others in the organization respect and trust is essential. Tony Hsieh of Zappos said:
For individuals character is destiny, for organizations culture is destiny.
In my opinion, one cannot build a strong culture that withstands the test of time without character.
Competence
What you know.
Having clear understanding where your competences lie is crucial to great leadership. Your experiences and your knowledge shape your vision; they are your North Star. That said, being open to continuously learning and evolving is very important. The best of the best spend a lot of time exploring and being open to new experiences. They also admit that they don’t possess all the knowledge in the world, hence they form strong partnerships and collaborations.
Collaboration
Who you bring on board.
Being an enlightened leader means knowing your strengths and your weaknesses and augmenting them accordingly. Success is a team sport, hence it becomes especially important to form a leadership team that complements each other. The same goes for the industry partnerships.
Courage
How far you are willing to take your vision.
Revolutionizing industries and challenging status quo is not easy. But that is exactly what is expected from extraordinary leadership. Being pioneers means being on the front lines, but it also means having a big target on your back. There are a lot of nay-sayers, as well as a ton of external pressures. Having courage to stick to your convictions and seeing your vision through is essential to the success of any venture. Staying on course because you see something that others don’t is what eventually leads to establishing a new normal, it’s what leads to progress. I believe it was Ambrose Redmoon who said:
[Source]Courage isn’t the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.
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