To be a great leader, start with empathy, change your perspective to an infinite game, and play the game you’re actually playing. Understand your cause, purpose, and why, and focus on outlasting and advancing them rather than beating your competition.
Key characteristics of today’s great leader
- Great leaders need empathy and perspective. They should focus on caring for those in their charge rather than being concerned about their organisational status or position.
- Empathy is a crucial skill for leaders. It means being concerned about the human being, not just their output. Leaders should try to understand someone’s point of view and disposition, especially when dealing with performance issues.
- The real job of a leader is to be responsible for the people who are responsible for the job. Unfortunately, many companies do not teach employees how to be good leaders.
- Leadership is a skill that can be learned and developed with practice, like a muscle. If you practice leadership every day, you will become a strong leader. If you stop practising, you will become a weak leader.
- Not everyone has to be a leader, as it comes with great personal sacrifice. Leaders must give away all the credit when everything goes right and take all the responsibility when everything goes wrong. They must stay late to show somebody what to do and not yell and scream when something goes wrong.
- Great leaders are responsible for the people responsible for the job, not just the job itself or the results. CEOs are not responsible for the customer but for the people responsible for the customer.
- Great leaders create the right environment where employees feel valued and cared for, leading to better customer experiences. It is not just about hiring the right people.
- To be a great leader, one needs to have empathy and perspective and be responsible for the people responsible for the job. Leadership is a skill that can be learned and developed with practice, and it comes at a tremendous personal sacrifice.
Change your perspective:
There are two kinds of games in game theory – finite and infinite. Finite games have known players, fixed rules, and an agreed-upon objective, while infinite games have known and unknown players, changeable rules, and the objective of keeping the game going. Most leaders are playing finite games, trying to beat their competition, when they should be playing infinite games, trying to outlast and frustrate their competition.
Play the infinite game:
The game of business has existed long before any company, and it will outlast them all. There is no winning the game of business because the rules have not been agreed upon. Instead, companies should play the infinite game, focusing on outlasting and advancing their cause, purpose, belief, and why. The infinite player is not playing to be number one every day with every product but rather to outlast the competition by competing against themselves and continually improving.
Understand the game you’re playing:
Most companies don’t even know the game they’re in. They’re obsessed with beating their competition rather than focusing on their cause and purpose. Great leaders understand the game they’re playing, change their perspective to an infinite game, and play to outlast and advance their cause.
We need to shift our thinking and prioritise creating a work environment that values human beings and their well-being, encourages open communication, fosters trust and collaboration, and empowers people to be their best selves. Only then can we create a world where everyone can thrive, and the next generation can find the joy and fulfilment they desperately seek.
This article is inspired by Simon Sinek’s video lecture: Most Leaders Don’t Even Know the Game They’re In (Video below)