In thinking about words beginning with the letter B that are essential for exemplary leadership, many come to mind. Consider, for example, in alphabetical order: beautiful, believe, beneficiary, benevolence, bloom, bold, brain, and busy. No doubt, many more can be added to the list.
President Trump thought it was important to include beautiful in the name of his Big Beautiful Bill. So, I included it in the list, knowing if I didn’t some would think I was making a political statement. I wouldn’t have been, just as not choosing it to be the winning B-word isn’t a political statement.
I’m a fan of Lou Tice and agree with the importance and power of beliefs in leadership. I subscribe to Alice’s statement in Through the Looking Glass, “The only way to achieve the impossible is to believe it’s possible.” As I state frequently in the podcast series, Talking John, instead of seeing is believing I believe it’s often the case that believing is seeing. What we believe shapes what we see and how we act. Even so, I don’t place believe or belief at the head of the list of B-words. I put it in second place.
What about beneficiary? Leaders should recognize they are beneficiaries of work done by others. Leaders who trash their predecessors’ work to make themselves appear smarter, better, and more powerful should stop looking in the rearview mirror and focus on what lies ahead. But beneficiary isn’t the winning B-word, either.
Neither is benevolence the winning B-word. Frequently, leaders must be benevolent. However, there are occasions when being benevolent will be counterproductive. You must pick the times and places to be benevolent. As Steve Sample says, leadership is situational and contingent.
In my leadership classes, students loved to ask leaders who visited the class how they progressed through the ranks to become leaders. Without exception, the responses were along the lines of what General Marty Steele said, “Bloom where you’re planted.” As Walmart’s Mike Duke told them, “Focus on your current job; don’t waste time thinking about your next job.” Do what you are doing now to the best of your ability; focus on the present and the future will take care of itself. But as important as blooming where you’re planted is, bloom isn’t the winning B-word.
What about being bold? I believe it’s essential for exemplary leadership. Jim Collins, in Good to Great, argues for leaders having BHAGs (big, hairy, audacious goals). I agree. Bold goals are superior to mediocre goals. Star Trek fans will recognize “boldly go where no man has gone before!” which Captain Kirk said at the beginning of each episode. But bold isn’t the winning B-word.
How about brain? In the Wizard of Oz, Tinman wants a brain. It’s important for leaders to have brains (be smart), but the best leaders shouldn’t be the smartest people in their organizations. If they are, then they don’t assemble a team of smart people. In a leader, IQ isn’t as important as EQ (emotional intelligence). Having a brain (being smart) is necessary, but not sufficient, for exemplary leadership.
Leaders need to be busy. Few sloths become leaders, unless the entire organization consists of sloths. But being busy isn’t necessarily being productive. As noted in a previous blog, results matter.
So, if the winning B-word isn’t beautiful, believe, beneficiary, benevolence, bloom, bold, brain, or busy, what’s the winning B-word? BALANCE!
In Why It Matters: Reflections on Practical Leadership, I devote an entire chapter to the subject of balance. In it, I say, “Achieving and maintaining balance is arguably the most important thing a leader does. Like a tightrope walker performing without a net, balance is essential for a leader’s success.”
In the chapter, after addressing balancing family and career, I discuss the importance of balancing emotions, short term and long term considerations, predictability and unpredictability, transparency and secrecy, internal and external demands, deciding and delegating, speaking and listening, standing firm and yielding, qualitative and quantitative aspects in decision making, time spent focusing on the big picture (breadth) versus the little picture (depth), asking for permission versus asking for forgiveness, being an amplifier versus being an attenuator, and having a balanced life.
Finally, remember what Dr. Seuss says in Oh, The Places You’ll Go, “Step with care and great tact and remember that life’s a great balancing act.” Leadership is a balancing act!
There were no winning entries for the B-Word. Let’s see if anyone comes up with the winning C-word in two weeks!
Next: Leadership ABCs—C
