"Out Think" is a book that explores emerging ideas in developing twenty-first-century leadership methods, mindsets, behaviours and beliefs about driving engagement, building deep collaboration and deviating from the norm onto new paths toward innovation. However, the expectation going in is that we all have a shared understanding of some of the foundational aspects of leadership, starting with building trust.
To be innovative leaders, we must build on this base by constantly reiterating and communicating core ideas, using powerful stories to propel change, modelling the behaviour we wish to see and, above all, creating and sustaining energy in others in the business or organisation.
These foundational traits of the innovative leader constitute the terra firma underlying the journey to innovation.
The IBM Global CEO study listed integrity as one of the top three characteristics leaders should have in today's changing business landscape. Integrity is about being true, honest and authentic with others. It's about being clear about our intentions and basing our actions on them. Our intentions are the platform on which our behaviours, thoughts, habits and actions stand. Our customers, colleagues, family and friends, and pretty much everyone we interact with generally have keen detectors of our intent.
Because all of the decisions we make are emotional (while we rationalise and justify those decisions analytically), our perceptions of others are based on intangibles that we use to make meaning in our world. These intangibles, which I have previously discussed in other leadership tips, include our assumptions and beliefs, values, vision of the future and guiding principles.
Recent studies have revealed that everyone everywhere has hidden biases and unquestioned (but often inaccurate) assumptions and beliefs. Yet, our biases, perceptions, assumptions and beliefs can inadvertently sabotage our relationships and hinder our business development and/or career aspirations.
One interview from the book, with CEO of World Fuel Services, Paul Stebbins talked about how powerful early life experiences can be as he described an experience. Stebbins had worked for a gas station in Texas for almost three years, starting at the age of 13. The gas station owner was a local man, known to everyone in town. On Paul's 16th birthday, the owner threw him the keys to the shop, asked him to close up as usual at 9:00p.m., got in his car and drove home.
Paul recalls being deeply humbled and appreciative of this act of complete trust: "If I do anything, as long as I live, it will be to have the same trust for somebody in my life as well. It certainly changed my view of the world, and I'll never forget it. I was, you know, ten feet off the ground and so proud that somebody would actually trust me with that. But I felt a real sense of responsibility and that's ultimately the core of it; the risk to give somebody the freedom to be responsible is a remarkable thing."
Great leaders love what they do and feel great purpose in it. That rubs off on those they work with. It's hard not to get caught up in the enthusiasm of the person who is leading us.
G. Shawn Hunter, the author of "Out Think", through interviews and collaboration with thought-leaders across industries, gathers insights, stories, and actionable take-aways, with an emphasis on results, that can drive the change that leaders want and need in their businesses.
"Out Think" leaders don't think of themselves as sitting at the top of a business they oversee, but rather as supporting people and processes from beneath, as a servant to the business or organisation.
Reference: G. Shawn Hunter: "Out Think: How Innovative Leaders Drive Exceptional Outcomes".2013 Wiley.
Business Tips
The Innovative Leader "Out Thinks"
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- Category: Leadership
