Who’s on your Mount Rushmore of leaders?
Gutzon Borglum let the world know who his top four leaders are — he even named his son after one of them.
They’re all great, but what makes them great?
In this article, I’ll illustrate the cause and effect of how personal attributes influence every leader’s individual process and outcome. As a case study, I’ll be referring to my personal Mount Rushmore, not of leaders, but of leadership attributes.
“Integrity is the way but it is courage that gets us there.”
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All human progress generally follows some form of leadership, right?
Our personal attributes are what I call leadership insurance. They navigate our morality and dictate our effectiveness. Are you aiming at the right target and are you hitting it?
My personal Mount Rushmore looks like the following:
#1 Integrity: The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.
Honestly, how is this not everyone’s first?
Everyone is a leader. I say again, everyone is a leader — and with all things in life, there is good and evil. Regrettably, the dark side has recruited some of the most powerful leaders throughout time. Imagine intelligence without integrity. Bin Laden was intelligent. Every leadership attribute is a potential misdirection without the possession of the moral compass called integrity.
That’s why integrity is the first thing getting caved into my Mount Rushmore. What do you think comes next?
I suggest the willingness to act. What’s the best ingredient for action?
#2 Courage: The ability to do something that frightens one.
Remember this, courage is a forever choice and human right. Harness your inner Viktor Frankl and accept that courage is a choice and no one can ever take this choice away from you.
Integrity is the way but it is courage that gets us there.
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” Dr. Viktor Emil Frankl
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#3 Awareness: Knowledge or perception of a situation or fact.
You have a moral compass of integrity.
Good.
You are willing to follow this compass no matter what.
Good.
Tell me about the path? Will it be easy? Do you know what will happen along the way? Can you predict the future?
No.
Cultivating a heightened level of awareness is how we best position ourselves and those depending on us for life’s surprises. For instance, in war this might look like patrolling unknown areas in order to learn enemy capabilities, terrain advantages and disadvantages, in order to best posture your people for the unexpected. In the workplace, maybe an upper-level manager makes time to talk to frontline employees to obtain feedback if endstate processes are enabling them to maximize their tasks and time.
To always be ready, you must always be aware.
#4 Agility: The ability to move quickly and easily.
Oxford’s definition includes, “to move,” and this is when I need to add that “to move” mentally is what this is all about. Your mental agility is your capability to implement action — especially in real-time when it often matters the most.
An Infantry Platoon Leader is engaged in combat. His integrity is pure, courage limitless, and is absolutely aware of the situation.
What happens next? Does he pause? Does he make a decision? Is it the right decision?
The next steps are dictated, every time, by your agility. Your mental agility.
You won’t hear mortars at your workplace today and probably not in your personal space either.
However, will there be stress? Probably.
Will there be chaos? Eventually.
When this time comes, your mental agility, with or without your permission, will be tested.
“Your mental agility, is your capability, to implement action…”
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How do we best use our personal attributes to lead?
Whether you are responsible at an organizational level or simply leading yourself in your day-to-day life, your leadership attributes will navigate your morality and dictate your effectiveness.
How do we prepare for these unexpected tests?
How do we prepare for anything? We condition ourselves in accordance with our objectives. If you need to be able to swim, and you can’t even float, you make time for some lessons in a pool. Similarly, when your objective is complex and potentially ongoing, it’s the same approach — you condition yourself in accordance with your objectives.
Therefore if you want to lead, if you want to prevail, you prepare.
We’ll dig into how to prepare for different environments against real challenges in future articles.
To conclude this piece, Who’s on your Mount Rushmore of leadership attributes? Tell us about them in the comments.
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