Leadership: are you more like New York or Hicksville?

Published: 2011-11-07   There are 2 comments ... please add yours below

Why do tourists visit New York? For Seth Godin, the bottom line is simple: it’s different. Not in the narrow sense of each card in a pack being different. But in giving you the full pack. Whatever your interests, NY offers them. Having lived there many years ago and revisited often, I get what he means. Unlike most places, it ticks all the boxes. So, if I asked your team, would each member say you tick theirs? Below are ten points from Seth’s list – each adjusted to leadership. Check how you rate.

1. Breadth: for Seth this is about NY offering many and different activities – whether cultural, educational, architectural, societal. Would people say you offer broad capabilities? Or are you just an engineer, who knows the numbers? Adding value but not as broadly as you could.
2. Engagement: he says a key NY public library speaks 42 languages. How wide is the range of people you engage and inspire? Just those of similar background or more broadly?
3. Outliers: going further, what do you do when you have to work with someone different, who’s outside the dimensions of education or abilities that match your view of a normal employee (or boss!). Can you stretch? In NY, everything stretches: there’s room for all.
4. Beliefs: we each have values but are you tolerant and interested to explore other people’s? Are you open to new possibilities and willing to learn? And, from anyone?
5. Motivation: NY people will, as Seth says, “sell you something, anything.” They’re profit-driven and energetic. What drives you – commercially and socially? What’s your life (and leadership) about?
6. Information: New Yorkers are fast talkers. And, there’s news and information of all kinds. Are you aware of what’s going on around you both locally and globally? Or, do you need to open up?
7. Eating: Seth talks about the diversity of food. In NY, unlike many places, it’s not homogenised and boring. For people, who work with you, is your leadership interesting and varied – or staid and stale?
8. Flexibility: in Japan, they like you to take the standard offering. I tried once to get a dessert without the topping. Wow! In NY, you can have it any way you like and any time of day. Would team members say you have flexibility in the way you lead – hearing and then meeting their needs.
9. Change: in the Big Apple, nothing stays the same – except the essence of its wondrous diversity and all the vibrant things that make it so powerful and effective. Do you adapt – and fast enough?
10. Help: like Seth, I’ve always found the locals surprisingly willing to assist – whether with directions or anything else. They seem to enjoy a new face, a different person, a fellow human, who needs something. Would people say that’s how you approach leadership?

Any city and any person has strengths and weaknesses. However, some cities get millions of tourists and others attract only business people and family – visiting because they have to. Are you the leader people seek out or the one they join because they’re told to – then leave when they can. If necessary, exiting the company to do so. As someone famously said: people join companies but they leave bosses.

Regardless of how you rate now, here’s a closing question. As the years roll by, are you (like NY) getting better and better? Or, month by month, just heading for Hicksville?

Dr. Timothy Pascoe AM
PhD (Cambridge), MBA (Harvard), BE & BEc (Adelaide)
Creator, V|E|C|T|O|R Leadership^®