The eleventh Key to an “A” is awareness. In addition to being aware of the needs and challenges facing followers, leaders need to be self-aware. It’s not a simple task.
After citing the need for a leader to have vision, the ability to rally people, and integrity, Warren Bennis notes, “Such leaders also need superb curatorial and coaching skills—an eye for talent, the ability to recognize correct choices, contagious optimism, a gift for bringing out the best in others, the ability to facilitate communication and mediate conflict, a sense of fairness, and, as always, the kind of authenticity and integrity that creates trust.”[i] How good are you at doing these things?
Peter F. Drucker notes, “Most people think they know what they are good at. They are usually wrong. More often, people know what they are not good at—and even then more people are wrong than right.”[ii]
You need to know your strengths and weaknesses. In Why It Matters, I share the following: “While on Virginia Tech’s faculty, after attending a conference in New Orleans, I was on a Delta flight to Atlanta, connecting with a flight to Roanoke. I was seated in the center seat; occupying the aisle seat was the current world’s number-one ranked handball player. During our conversation, he asked if I played handball. I told him I didn’t because of a reoccurring dislocation of my left shoulder, but I played racquet ball. Then, he gave me three pieces of advice. First, play with people better than I, because it’d improve my game. Second, play to my strength, which is probably my forehand; don’t try to make by backhand as strong as my forehand, because it’ll weaken my forehand. Third, hit every serve and shot to my opponent’s weakness, which is usually their backhand.
“After returning to campus, I played with one of my graduate students, who was a very good racquetball player. I had never won a game with him, but he was smart enough to let me think it was possible. So, I decided to hit every serve and every return to his backhand. I won the first game. I couldn’t believe it. I was ecstatic. During the second game, I was ahead 10 to zero and did a baby lob serve to his backhand. He lost the point, smashed his racquet against the wall of the court, walked off, and never played with me again.
“Little did I realize how much the handball player’s advice would influence my approach to leadership.”
Following the handball player’s first piece of advice, at Georgia Tech and Arkansas I used differentiation and association to elevate aspirations of faculty members. Specifically, I differentiated our college/university from others in the state and region. Then, by using benchmarking I associated our college/university with the nation’s top-ranked colleges and universities. I believed using differentiation and association would make both universities better—and it did.
The second piece of advice served as a cornerstone for my leadership approach. Based on my strengths and weaknesses, I assembled a team with people who were strong in areas where I was weak. To be successful, I had to be brutally honest about my strengths and weaknesses.
I used Strengths Finder[iii] and the Myers-Briggs[iv] personality assessment to help me identify my strengths and weaknesses. Also, I relied on feedback from individuals with whom I worked, friends, and family members. However, it’s unlikely people will provide an accurate assessment; it’s impossible to be totally objective. What we see is colored by our experiences.
In addressing his success in gaining support from his Cabinet, Goodwin examined how Lincoln led a very divergent set of men to support the Emancipation Proclamation. She concluded, “The best answer can be found in what we identify today as Lincoln’s emotional intelligence: his empathy, humility, consistency, self-awareness, self-discipline, and generosity of spirit.”[v]
What about the handball player’s third piece of advice? After the graduate student walked off the court, awareness caused me to conclude winning a racquetball game was not as important as maintaining my relationship with the student. Only in unusual situations will I attack an opponent’s weaknesses. Instead of attempting to make the sale by putting down the competition, I emphasized the strengths of our organization. However, at times I couldn’t resist pointing out improvement opportunities facing the competition.
Being self-aware means accepting the fact that you, the leader, won’t and shouldn’t have all the answers to issues arising within the organization. When striving to make improvements in an organization, Tyson Foods’ Donald Smith told students in the leadership class, “The answer is always in the room.” He said, if you listen to your people, they will provide the answers you need.
Smith had an interesting career path at Tyson. He didn’t climb the mountain using a straight path; instead, he took a circuitous route, going around the mountain, holding disparate positions. I asked how he established credibility with groups when he had no experience or educational qualifications for the subject area. He said he met with the people he was responsible for leading and asked them three questions: What are we good at? What are we bad at? If you were king or queen for a day, what would you do to make this place better? He compiled the answers, met with the people again, showed them what they said, asked if it was correct, obtained their concurrence, and proceeded to do what they said. Not only is Smith self-aware, but he is also a servant leader.
Next: Keys to “A”s in Leadership–Part IX (Attentiveness and Alertness)
[i] Warren Bennis, On Becoming a Leader, Basic Books, Philadelphia, PA, 2009, p. xxiii.
[ii] Peter F. Drucker, “Managing Oneself,” Harvard Business Review, January 1999, reprinted in the peter f. drucker reader, Harvard Business Review Press, Boston, MA, 2017, p. 137.
[iii] Tom Rath, Strengths Finder, Gallup Press, New York, NY, 2007 or Tom Rath and Barry Conchie, Strengths-Based Leadership, Three Rivers Press, New York, NY, 2019.
[iv] See https://my-personality-test.com/personality-type-indicator.
[v] Doris Kearns Goodwin, Leadership in Turbulent Times, Simon & Schuster, New York, NY, 2018, pp. 222-223.
