Easiest Way To Stand Out As A Leader

Richie Etwaru

Richie is Group Vice President Cegedim Relationship Management

Some things in life are counterintuitive. One of water’s lesser-known properties is that hot water freezes faster than cold water. It is not fully understood why, but the phenomenon, known as the Mpemba Effect, was originally discovered by Aristotle over 3,000 years ago.

Think about it, hot water freezes faster than cold water, who would have thought? This example of Aristotle’s discovery is the epitome of how many leaders stand out.

You can too, and it is called counter intuition …

I have been studying counter intuition for about five years, and I find it to be the single most effectively way to stand out as a leader. Lots have been written revealing counter-intuitive truths to open people’s minds to change. Neuroscience describes this as ‘cognitive dissonance’; stopping our mind from processing automatically and setting us up to restructure our thinking.

Mahatma Gandhi for example chose to meet violence with non-violence, breaking the cycle of escalation and opening a different dialogue for change.

Below are examples of applying counter intuition from other successful business individuals and world-recognized leaders that can help you stand out.

Build your strengths and forget your weaknesses …

Having leaders focus their development on their weaknesses is a traditional approach, widely accepted, but not very effective. This is because great leaders are differentiated by the existence of profound strengths, not the absence of weaknesses. Counter intuitive for sure. Focusing on fixing weaknesses may elevate a poor leader up to average, but it never made any leader exceptional.

Great leaders distinguish themselves by possessing and exhibiting significant strengths in areas that are important to their jobs. They don’t stand out because they’re perfect and have no weaknesses.

The paragraphs above are the courtesy of Bob Sherwin found here.

Hire those who have failed …

In the episode of Hacking the Future below, John Nosta and I discuss failure in depth, and cover the value of hiring those with “failure experience”. Counter intuitive? Yes!

In the past, the only companies keen on hiring a failed entrepreneur would be in the consulting, public relations, marketing and advertising space. However, now startups in various sectors are looking for former or failed entrepreneurs.

Aditya Narayan Mishra, president of staffing firm Randstad India.

Don’t think too big …

Publicly flog your biases …

When you hold a certain belief or unconsciously decide on something, you’ll have a tendency to focus on and favor information that supports your belief or decision, discarding anything that contradicts it. You do it without even realizing it. Psychologists call this confirmation bias.

While this is a fundamentally human foible to which neither the brilliant nor the principled are impervious, unchecked in a leader or decision-maker it could lead to damaging – even catastrophic consequences.

“Confirmation bias is one of the most difficult biases to overcome,” says Professor Iris Bohnet, Academic Dean at Harvard Kennedy School and faculty chair of the executive program, Global Leadership and Public Policy for the 21st Century for theWorld Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders.

Warren Buffet [for example] counts on his vice-chairman, Berkshire Hathaway ’sCharlie Munger, to point out flaws in his own reasoning. “If I talk it through [with him], it’s because deep down I know I might be doing something dumb, and he’ll tell me,” Buffet shared recently on CNBC. [He flogs his biases publicly, counter intuitive? You bet!]