Irreverent Strategies
By Les Mottosky
We’re all born with quirks, “flaws,” and gifts. Leadership is the chance to refine and express them. What makes us weird also makes us, us. More than that, it makes us valuable. Our peculiarities are the energy and flavour of our contribution to life. Part of that contribution is helping others recognize their own uniqueness as the lever for their leadership.
But first, the stigma around our weirdness has to die. That death isn’t painless or without significant investment of energy. Society — and our own survival instincts — make stepping outside “normal” feel like an existential threat. Which it is. But only to a smaller, safer version of ourselves.
We spend a third of our lives at work. More than a time to earn a living, it’s also an opportunity to evolve. Our work is the space for developing our own brand of leadership. Leadership continues to be misunderstood exclusively as a title. It’s more widely distributed than that. It's also a mindset, an orientation. And while service is the intent, it’s not all about others first. It’s also about responsibility to self.
Through the lens of our weirdness, this makes sense.
We have to let “weird,” “flawed,” and even “leader” die as labels, and instead see them as expressions of our most authentic nature. To live fully expressed is the desire burning in every human. We do it effortlessly as children, but it takes genuine grit to do it as an adult.
We have to push past the stigmas and confusion of our conditioned adult experience.
The first act of leadership, then, is to set fire to the outdated labels that keep us small. They served their purpose. Let them die.
Is it weird to do this? Yup. It is. But refusing to is the more severe sacrifice. It's self betrayal.
Because until we let those false concepts of ourselves die, we can’t truly live.
Weird as it sounds, dying to live isn't only our deepest desire; it's our highest responsibility.
TAGS: #Irreverent Strategies #Adaptation As Innovation #Leadership Wisdom #Creativity At Work #Courage Is Our Nature
Les Mottosky
Adaptation Strategist // I help organizations turn creativity into their competitive advantage by aligning leadership, culture and strategy to unlock adaptive innovations.
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