Smarts, Heart, and a Belly Full of Fire: What It Really Takes to Succeed in a Volatile World

These leaders display insight around both their strengths and limitations. They have realistic expectations for the role, and a high level of awareness about how to manage their potential derailers and where they are on their own development path. It requires a high degree of attunement to the conditions in which they are likely to thrive and grow.

• Displays insight and mindfulness of their personal strengths and development areas.
• Leverages feedback to maintain self-awareness.
• Openly acknowledges blind spots and potential derailers.
• Develops coping strategies to mitigate personal risks.
• Engages in thorough research and planning for future roles. Constructs and evaluates strategies for adjusting to them.

Build more diverse teams

Self-aware leaders know how to optimize their performance—and that of their team. They know that the best teams are a mosaic of personalities, who can challenge their thinking, and bring different skill sets. For these types of leaders, it’s not about their ego, it’s about bringing a diverse team together to drive results.

More likely to create a learning culture

Self-aware leaders are not only in tune with their own flaws, but they’re comfortable enough to share them with their team. Being open and honest about their development creates a culture of learning. This opens the door for other members of the organization to share what they are looking to develop. 

Smarter decision-making

Self-aware leaders are unafraid to admit when they don’t have all of the answers. They rarely shoot from the hip—or over-estimate their abilities. This honesty often means they’re able to collaborate with others to make more informed choices, and in turn sidestep costly mistakes.

These leaders display a high degree of clarity around their personal values, motivations, and ambitions. They have a set of morals, principles, and non-negotiables that underlie their decisions and actions. They effectively balance principles with pragmatism, setting clear priorities, and making mindful compromises where appropriate.

• Possesses a keen understanding of personal passions, values, and guiding principles.  
• Maintains a strong sense of direction.
• Clearly defines personal boundaries and affirms essential core values.  
• Understands when to make compromises on values outside their core.
• Models their values throughout challenging situations. Inspires others to follow suit with ease.

Builds trust

Leaders who understand where their moral lines are drawn, and are able to effectively communicate these values, create a framework for authentic leadership. They’re able to show that they can back up what they say with meaningful actions. And over time, when a leader is able to show consistency in these values, rather than swaying every time the wind changes, they’re able to build trust with their team and the broader organization. 

Better decision-making

A value-driven leader navigates complex decisions with clarity. Their values system provides a consistent framework for addressing both day-to-day issues as well as long-term strategic challenges, ensuring decisions align not only with how an organization can maximize its financial performance, but with its core beliefs. This results in a more coherent strategy, where short-term gains don’t come at the expense of long-term integrity. 

More sustainable growth

A leader who has visible values and prioritizes those over quick wins will uncover innovative solutions that balance profit and purpose. This approach is much more likely to attract investors looking for long-term stability and mitigates any risks associated with unethical practices. The result? A robust business model that can better weather economic storms and adapt to changing market conditions without compromising on their core principles. 

These leaders look beyond themselves, offering a well-articulated view of their professional purpose and desired impact on the wider ecosystem (including their teams, organizations, industries, society, and the world). They are cognizant of the long-term impact of their leadership and can articulate the steps they are taking to shape their legacy.

• Tethers to a clearly articulated personal and professional mission. 
• Recognizes the potential long-term impact of their mission.
• Seamlessly connects their core values with the organization’s vision. 
• Generates impact across multiple stakeholder groups.
• Embraces a mindset of servicing and enabling others. 
• Places others ahead of their own achievements or recognition.

Enhanced organizational resilience

Leaders who understand where their moral lines are drawn, and are able to effectively communicate these values, create a framework for authentic leadership. They’re able to show that they can back up what they say with meaningful actions. And over time, when a leader is able to show consistency in these values, rather than swaying every time the wind changes, they’re able to build trust with their team and the broader organization. 

Better decision-making

Leaders who understand the importance of legacy building are able to instill a sense of purpose and direction that transcends their tenure. They develop the organization’s core identity and a set of values that serve as a touchstone during crises, guiding decision-making, and unifying efforts when the path forward seems unclear. As a result, they create organizations that can withstand the test of time.

Better able to build trust 

Legacy-focused leaders will be clear on their values and purpose from the offset, and their actions will closely reflect them. This alignment of rhetoric and actions creates a bedrock of reliability that employees, the board, and other stakeholders can depend on. When a leader demonstrates consistency with these values, it engenders a sense of predictability and security within an organization, which in turn builds trust. 

Start with self. The best leaders are voracious consumers of data and are constantly finding ways to create space in their schedules to stay curious outside the “day to day” of their roles. They convert their self-awareness into “self-knowledge”—the ability to adjust their behaviors and their rituals to take into account when they are in positive or negative situations. They know what triggers their stress and energy depletion and have mechanisms for recovery (both physical and mental) that they apply consistently.

Strong networks. Leaders need broad and rich networks—inside and outside of their organizations, and at multiple levels. The best leaders are very connected, hearing 360-degree inputs from employees levels down, their peers, and a wide range of external sources. These insights are not only critical to ongoing self-awareness and development—they also help leaders to filter each new instinct through a trusted set of colleagues and team members who will challenge and even redirect to get the optimal outcome. 

Intentional inclusion. Great leaders assertively pull perspectives from everywhere into their decision-making processes. No matter how expansive or fast thinking a leader may be, their pattern recognition will be improved if they actively get other brains on the challenge and resist the temptation to go it alone. Every leader needs a “kitchen cabinet” to help them hear the truth and make the right decisions. Nothing is truer than the adage that senior leaders don't hear the unvarnished truth enough—so great leaders seek it out.

The power of stories. As leaders own their development journeys and prioritize moments of reflection, stories can be an especially effective way of demonstrating authenticity and vulnerability.  Some leaders are natural storytellers they need to make sure their stories don’t sound too slick or superficial. Other leaders struggle with opening up and sharing—requiring structure, practice, and feedback to hone a few stories that can make an impact.