I love the advent of superhero movies over the past 20 years. The Marvel Universe and DC Comics movies have mostly been very fun to watch. I don't understand the cinematic science behind it, but in order for these movies to be enjoyable there has to be some believable hook to them. Some small scene or sequence of details early in the movie that makes you think, 'huh, yeah, I could see that.' Once that hook is in, it'll pull you off into a very enjoyable 2 hours of adventure.
One of the hardest superheroes to depict has to be Superman. No matter what superpowers any of the other heroes have, he has them and he has them better. How do you even compete with that? How do you make any conflict with Superman dramatic when he has all of the powers?? When DC Comics released a movie where Batman, who has no superpowers, duels with Superman, who has ALL of the superpowers, I thought there was no way this movie was going to get me to believe.
I was wrong. (SPOILER ALERT COMING). Somehow they pulled it off. Batman, with his endless supply of gadgets and toughness, battled with Superman and everyone of his super powers. When Batman slyly drew Superman into a room of Kryptonite, I began to believe that Batman could win this duel. The crescendo was Batman killing Superman with a spear of Kryptonite!
I bought it - hook, line, and sinker.
Leaders, like Superman, all have weaknesses. Even the most super of leaders, has weaknesses. The difference between regular leaders and super leaders is that super leaders know how to handle their weaknesses.
Here are a few things that a leader can to do with their weaknesses to move their leadership to super status...
Know them! Too many leaders are not aware of their own weaknesses. This lack of awareness can be attributed to one of only two things: 1) an obliviousness to the weakness or 2) pride. It doesn't matter which one it is, both are leadership kryptonite. The solution? A leader must regularly, routinely, formally, and informally invite feedback.
Prioritize certain weaknesses: There are certain weaknesses that must be worked on. There are others that should be avoided (I'll address that later). The weaknesses that a leader must work on need to be prioritized. Here's how: 1) If it is a task that you do not like, or are not good at tackle it early in the day when you are fresh mentally and physically. 2) Give someone you have a good working relationship with permission to send you a code word when your weakness is showing 3) Read books and blogs, listen to podcasts, or journal about your weakness. This type of reflection has a way of helping you see your weakness and solutions to it in greater clarity.
Tell your team about them: Super leaders know that transparency has a way of disarming their team on the topic of their weaknesses. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr once said that the solution to ignorance is awareness. When a leader and their team 'knows that each other knows' about a weakness it is no longer the elephant in the room. This leads to greater empathy, sympathy, clarity, and communication surrounding shortcomings. A leader should be honest with their team about their weaknesses. It also leads to the next suggestion...
Invite your team to cover them: No matter what you believe about the Bible, it is commonly accepted there is great wisdom in it. One of those pieces of wisdom comes from the letter of Romans. The apostle Paul tells the readers of the letter to view their community as one body that has many parts that are responsible to play their particular role. A team operates in the same way. It has multiple members that hold different roles. A team that is led by a leader that is transparent about their own weaknesses (and willing to put some work into them) will nurture a culture of teammates that are willing to cover each other's weaknesses. It is very likely that a member of your team is strong in an area that you are weak. Do not shy away from asking your team to cover your weaknesses.
Avoid them: One of the great compliments that a steady and reliable player on an athletic team can receive is 'they don't try to do anything they're not capable of'. This statement is often assigned to players that know exactly what they do well and what they don't do well and they avoid the later as much as possible. In the same way, there are just some weaknesses that a leader has and needs to avoid. This is often seen when a leader who is not an accounting wiz, relies heavily on a CFO for financial decisions. But shouldn't weaknesses be worked on until they become a strength? No. There is great leadership research that informs us that the return on investment of time, energy, and focus of working in strengths is significantly higher than working on weaknesses. Since a leader has limited time, energy, and focus they need to get the most out of it by focusing on areas that have the biggest return on investment. Are there some weaknesses that have to be embraced and worked on? Sure, but that list is much smaller than most people would assume. Leaders are wise to avoid most of their weaknesses by utilizing some of the previous suggestions.
In the DC Comic movie I referenced earlier, Batman was able to defeat Superman by stabbing him with a spear of his ultimate weakness, Kryptonite. While our lives aren't at stake like Superman's our leadership will be if we don't know how to account for and at times avoid our weaknesses.
Bonus content: Here are some suggestions to go deeper on this topic. ‘The Emotionally Healthy Leader’ by Peter Scazzero ‘Master of One’ by Jordan Raynor ‘Leading with a Limp’ by Dan Allender.
Keep on, keepin' on, friends!
‘Bite Down and Don’t Let Go’ is a collection of writings on being intentional about life in a way that produces great persistence. Read about it more here.
Comments
Post a Comment