The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable on Real Success in Business and in (11 page)

“I could easily make five little steps forward every day,” I admitted.

“That’s the beauty of The Daily 5 concept, Blake—everyone can. Big changes are scary. But anyone can complete five tiny goals in a day. And small daily improvements over time really do lead to stunning results. After a month that’s about one hundred and fifty goals you’ve realized. And after twelve months, you’ve achieved over two thousand goals. Just imagine the level of confidence you’ll have just twelve months from today if you achieved two thousand goals. Just imagine what your next twelve months will look like, not only in your work at the bookstore but also as it relates to your health, your relationships, and the other key areas of your life when you achieve two thousand little but focused and meaningful outcomes.”

“My whole life will look different,” I quickly agreed. I felt so inspired by what I was hearing.
I could do this.

“It really will, Blake. And you deserve to live a successful and happy life. You really do deserve to work and live in a way that expresses the absolute best within you and makes you feel like you matter in the most wonderful of ways. Which elegantly brings me to the
A
in IMAGE.”

“Which stands for?”

“Authenticity. The old model of leadership, as I’ve mentioned,
was very much about the power you get from the authority of your position and the influence you’d have from a title, as you’ve now learned so well. But in this radically new period of business, your ability to have an impact and make a contribution comes more from who you are as a person than from the authority you receive by your placement on some org chart.
It’s never been so important to be trustworthy. It’s never been so important to be someone others respect. It’s never been so important to keep the promises you make to your teammates and customers. And it’s never been so essential to be authentic.
I should also add that it’s never been so hard to show authenticity because of all the social pressure to be like everyone else. Media, our peers, and the world around us pound us relentlessly with messages designed to have us live their values versus our own. There’s a huge pull to behave like the majority. But leadership really is about closing your ears to the noisy voices of others so you can more clearly hear the mission and call within yourself. Makes me think of the words of Dr. Seuss: ‘Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.’ And that’s what authenticity is all about, Blake. It’s about feeling really safe in your own skin and learning to trust yourself so that you work under your values, express your original voice, and be the best you can be. It’s about knowing who you are, what you stand for, and then having the courage to be yourself—in every situation rather than only when it’s convenient. It’s about being real, consistent, and congruent so who you are on the inside is reflected by the way you perform on the outside. And being authentic and true to yourself also means that you meet your potential and work at brilliance—because that’s what you truly are.”

Tommy spoke up: “And the great American Ralph Waldo Emerson reminds us ‘To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.’ ”

“So true, Tommy,” Anna expressed, nodding her head. “You feeling better?” she asked caringly.

“Perfect,” Tommy replied, glancing at his SpongeBob SquarePants watch to check the time.

Anna sat down on the sofa next to Tommy. He put his arm around her. “In my spare time I read a lot of business books. I get a lot of them from the training sessions I go to. I recall reading one by Jack Welch and I’ve never forgotten a line he used: ‘Don’t lose yourself on the way to the top.’ Warren Buffett made the point equally neatly when he observed: ‘There will never be a better you than you.’ And Oscar Wilde noted: ‘Be Yourself. Everyone else is taken.’ Authenticity is one of the deepest things Leaders Without a Title exemplify. Few things are as powerful when it comes to being a leader interested in positively influencing all those around you than being a person who’s comfortable in your own self and fully presenting
all
you fully are,” Anna offered passionately.

“So being authentic isn’t just about being trustworthy, staying true to your mission and values, and speaking honestly. It’s clear that you’re also saying that being authentic means realizing all my potential and really getting to know all that genius you said was inside me,” I reiterated, paying strong attention to all I was learning.

“Yes, Blake. To be authentic isn’t just about being true to your values. Being authentic means being true to your talents. When you go to work every day and present your leadership best, that’s a superb example of authenticity in action—and being in alignment.

“I can tell a person who is authentic a mile away. I can sniff their sincerity and sense their realness. And their passion for greatness touches the longing for greatness within me. And that allows me to relate to them, Blake.
When you give yourself permission to be open, real, and brilliant around others, you
give others permission to be open, real, and brilliant around you.
Just being around you makes them feel safe—and heroic. They begin to relax and open up. Trust grows. And amazing things start to happen.”

Anna paused and took a sip of Tommy’s coffee along with a nibble of chocolate.

“ ‘Authenticity is about being true to who you are, even when everyone around you wants you to be someone else,’ said basketball great Michael Jordan. I remember reading his book
Driven from Within
when I still lived down in Buenos Aires. Extraordinary person. Superb athlete. And he makes a key point: stay committed to your mission, values, and the full self-expression of your inner leader even when people doubt you. When people say you’ll fail or suggest you’re not good enough, stand strong in your own skin and don’t let them tear you down.
Because leadership has a lot to do with believing in yourself when no one else believes in you.
”

“You like Jordan?” I asked, a little surprised that this beautiful Argentinean housekeeper was a fan of this pro basketball star.

“Uh huh,” Anna nodded with glee. “And he’s even cuter than Tommy over here.”

“Not funny,” Tommy retorted, feigning irritation. He fixed his collar and pretended to primp his hair in an attempt to entertain us. Both Anna and I looked at each other and laughed.

“And Bono, the U2 singer, spoke of the importance of authenticity in the new world of ours in these words: ‘Please, let go of your ego, please be you and no one else. You are so beautiful how you are.’ ”

“Splendid words,” I admitted.

“You are pretty beautiful, Anna,” Tommy quickly spoke up.

“Thanks, honey,” she replied graciously. “Just remember that the more you feed your ego—which is nothing more than the artificial part of you that you’ve constructed to receive approval
from the majority—and lose sight of who you really are at your core, the hungrier the ego will get.”

“So our ego is the social part of ourselves that has grown the more we’ve tried to become the people the world around us wants us to be versus the people we truly are,” I stated.

“Exactly, Blake. I remember reading a story of a student who met a wise elder from his community on the street one day. The young man admired the elder for his achievements as well as for his strength of character. He asked the wise man if he ever had weak thoughts and if he ever succumbed to the allure of the ego, which wants us to run our lives by superficial attractions like titles and social status. The elder replied: ‘Of course, I have weak thoughts and my ego tries to get me off track every single day. This happens because I’m a human being. But I also have my authentic side, which is my essential nature and all I really am. That part of me creates the noble and brave thoughts—and keeps me on track to become my greatest self. So it’s almost as if I have two dogs inside me. A good dog that wants to lead me to where I dream of going, and that bad dog that tries to take me off my ideal path.’ ‘So which one wins?’ asked the young student. ‘That’s easy,’ replied the elder. ‘The one I feed the most.’ ”

“Great story,” I replied, fully engaged and understanding the importance of authenticity to leadership excellence.

“Leaders Without a Title check their egos at the front door every morning before they walk into work. Rather than slavishly obsessing about pursuits like larger offices and bigger paychecks that society wants us to run our lives by, they harness their complete focus and awesome capabilities on doing their best work, making a difference in the lives of their teammates and customers, and building a better organization. Rather than defining their success by what they get, they define their success by what they give. That not only makes them special in the eyes of everyone around them, it also fills them up with such a sense
of fulfillment and happiness. Because they know they are spending their lives well, in pursuit of a meaningful cause.”

Anna stopped for a moment and glanced at her watch.

“Forgive me, Blake the Great, I’m going to have to get back to my work in a moment. But let me quickly finish up with the last two of the five rules in the IMAGE acronym. The
G
simply stands for the need to have Guts in business. You need no title to be a leader, but you do need to have huge toughness and big guts. To Lead Without a Title, you will have to be unrealistically persistent and wildly courageous. You’ll need to dare more than the reasonable person and risk far more than the ordinary man. That’s not as hard as it might sound. Every one of us has at our core a well of courage just begging to be tapped. We all want to be superheroes in some form or another and have the capacity of character to keep going when everyone around us is ready to give up. You see, Blake, success truly is a numbers game. And those that become the best and brightest leaders in their work are those that develop the mind-set of failure not being an option. Too many people throw in the towel on that new idea that will make the business better or that new tactic that will bring the team closer the second they face a little resistance. But the very nature of leadership is such that as you dream bigger dreams and act with greater mastery, you will meet with greater resistance. The more you leave your valleys of comfort in passionate pursuit of your mountains of opportunity, the more obstacles you’ll face as you make your climb. Setbacks will happen. Things will go wrong. Competitors will try to knock you down. And even the people around you will try to discourage you. Those who are clinging to the old way of doing things and frightened of change will join hands and become your loudest critics. They will claim you are doing something that’s wrong, rocking the boat, and basically being abnormal. And that would be true.”

“Really?”

“Sure. To have the guts to see opportunities where others see challenges and to envision things becoming a whole lot better while others grow complacent is to become a visionary. And most of us are just too scared to go there. More people are just too threatened by the change one needs to move through en route to a better version of your greatest vision. They just can’t bear to let go of all they’ve known and release their needy clinging to the way things have always been. So anyone who thinks and behaves differently from them will be called ‘abnormal.’ Because most people just can’t break free from their past by stepping up to becoming and doing more. And rather than applauding someone with the pure guts and raw drive to innovate, re-create, and excel, the mob condemns them. Shouts them down. Mocks and ridicules them. Becomes their loudmouthed critics. But the truth of the matter is that’s just the coping mechanism of individuals afraid to grow.
Criticism is the defense reaction that scared people use to protect themselves against change.
”

“Wow, fantastic insight, Anna,” I replied appreciatively.

“It’s true. All I’m suggesting is that part of showing real leadership involves attracting the attention—and condemnation—of critics. Some will insult your new level of leadership thinking. Others will harass your higher way of operating. Yet more will oppose your passionate commitment to overdelivering. Many will become jealous of you. But as Fulton Sheen once observed: ‘Jealousy is the tribute that mediocrity pays to genius.’ ”

“Bring it on, Anna,” I exclaimed enthusiastically.

“As you do all you can do to drive better results and influence world-class outcomes, you will meet inevitable obstacles. And as you stand out above the crowd by holding yourself to standards far higher than anyone could place on you, you will experience periods of self-doubt. But your faith in the difference you can make and your belief in the leader you must become has to outweigh your fear. As I suggested earlier, you must stay passionately
committed to your vision and have the strength to keep expressing the absolute best within you. And that takes guts. That takes courage. That requires the fierce resolve that every great man and woman who has walked before you has tapped into. You have it, Blake. Maybe now it’s time to seriously embrace it.”

“I definitely agree. I’m completely with you on this. What does the
E
in IMAGE stand for, Anna?” I asked as I realized that my meeting with the first of the four teachers was nearing the end and though I’d only just met her this morning, I’d miss Anna—this proud and beautiful woman with a noble spirit and a flower placed delicately in her long black hair.

“Ethics,” came the warm yet crisp reply. “Sadly, a topic a lot of businesspeople seem to have forgotten in these fast-paced and topsy-turvy business times. Too many cut corners. They go for the cash grab. They think only about themselves. Whatever happened to good manners, excellent ethics, and remembering that doing good business is actually very good for business?” Anna asked in a heartfelt tone.

Tommy joined the conversation again.
“You will never go wrong in doing what’s right, my young friend,”
he observed. “Never.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about leadership success, it’s that it lies at the intersection where excellence meets honor.
”