- The Process
- Posts
- A Leadership Superpower
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Now, onto Issue 24.
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A Leadership Superpower
I recently read the book, “The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership.”
In it, the authors introduce the concept of leading from “above the line.”
“At any point, a leader is either above the line or below the line,” the book states. “If you are above it, you are leading consciously. If you are below it, you are not.”
When leaders are “above the line,” they are:
open
curious
committed to learning
When leaders are “below the line,” they are:
closed
defensive
committed to being right
It’s a powerful and dynamic concept that impacts all of us, every day.
While we all would like to be “above the line” leaders, the truth is we’re all both.
We oscillate between being “above the line” and “below the line,” depending on the circumstance.
This isn’t a bad thing.
What’s important is that we’re honest with ourselves.
“It matters far more that leaders can accurately determine whether they are above or below the line in any moment than where they actually are.”
So, how do you become an “above the line” leader?
The book outlines 15 commitments of conscious leaders.
Taking Radical Responsibility is the first commitment.
Let’s dive deeper into that and why it’s required to be a truly great leader.
What is Radical Responsibility?
“I commit to taking full responsibility for the circumstances of my life and for my physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being. I commit to supporting others to take full responsibility for their lives.”
Great leadership begins with taking radical responsibility.
Some call this “extreme ownership.”
It simply means you take 100% responsibility for yourself, your team and your circumstance.
The opposite of radical responsibility is blame.
Blame, shame and guilt come from toxic fear.
When things go against us, our natural human reaction is to protect ourselves and our egos.
So we blame someone or something for the outcome.
In doing this, we create a destructive relationship dynamic known as victims, villains and heroes.
Victims, Villains and Heroes
This is the toxic fear triangle.
VICTIMS see themselves “at the effect of.” Things happen “to them.” They complain about fairness and whine about reality.
VILLAINS look to place fault and blame. They will point their finger at a person, a thing or even themselves. Their solution to fear is finding who’s to blame.
HEROES despise discomfort. They try to diffuse conflict, pain and tension without actually confronting the issue.
This triangle keeps leaders and teams “below the line.”
The impact is:
lack of creativity
lack of innovation
lack of collaboration
high employee turnover
an erosion of morale and culture
How you combat this poison is by building a culture of taking radical responsibility.
3 Steps to take Radical Responsibility
Psychologists have a term: “locus of control.”
When we blame, we give away control of our lives. The “locus” exists outside ourselves.
When we take responsibility, we take control of our lives. The “locus” exists inside ourselves.
Most people believe the world should or shouldn’t work a certain way.
The problem with this: life doesn’t always go how we think it should.
And when it doesn’t, the human response is to become anxious and shift into a defensive posture.
Enter blame and victims, villains and heroes.
So, how do we take radical responsibility with psychology stacked against us?
There are three general steps:
(1) Detach from expectations
Instead of expecting the world to be a certain way, accept that the world just shows up.
There’s no way the world “should be.”
It just is.
When we embrace this concept, we open ourselves up to learning.
(2) Shift our mindset
The second step is shifting our mindset.
Instead of being:
rigid
closed-minded
self-righteous
We want to embrace curiosity, learning and wonder.
(3) Shift our perspective
Finally, we want to shift our perspective from life happening TO US to it happening FOR US.
While this isn’t absolutely necessary in order take radical responsibility, it does take your growth to another level.
With this perspective, we can have a heart of gratitude for what is happening in our lives.
Gratitude is rocket fuel for curiosity and learning.
Putting Radical Responsibility into Action
There are two keys to putting Radical Responsibility into action:
(1) Model it
The first part of the Radical Responsibility commitment states, “I commit to taking full responsibility …”
As a leader, it starts with you.
If you want your team to build this skill, you must go first.
(2) Build an “above the line” culture
Building an “above the line” culture is a continuous process. There’s now quick “fix.”
But a great place to start is being mindful of speech.
First, be deliberate about your speech as a leader.
Second, pay attention to the questions you and others ask.
Blame-based cultures tend to ask questions like:
Who did it?
Who’s fault it is?
Why did this happen?
Who dropped the ball?
Who’s going to fix it?
Learning-based cultures tend to ask questions like:
What was my role in this?
Am I taking full responsibility?
What can we learn from this?
How can we improve?
How can I support my teammates?
“Above the line” cultures are learning cultures.
🎯 Key Takeaways
Let’s summarize the key takeaways:
“Above the line” cultures are open, curious and committed to learning
“Below the line” cultures closed, defensive and committed to being right
Taking Radical Responsibility is the first commitment of “above the line” leaders
To do this, maintain an internal “locus of control”
Leaders must model Radical Responsibility for their teams
Build an “above the line” culture to instill Radical Responsibility in your organization
A final note:
This doesn’t only apply to people in leadership roles.
This applies to all of us.
We’re all leaders, even if that’s leading ourselves.
We’re all better when we live “above the line” — open, curious and learning.
Take Radical Responsibility.
It’s a leadership superpower.
🔥 Teddy’s Recommendations
(1) Harvard Business Review: If humility is so important, why are leaders so arrogant?
(2) An interesting read on the science of napping. Key takeaway: Even a 10-minute nap has proven to benefit your mood and alertness. Get those power naps in.
(3) The Wall Street Journal did a feature on Ken Rideout, who is one of the world’s top over-50 marathon runners. My wife knows Ken, and I’ve gotten to learn some of his story. While many people decline physically and athletically as they age, Ken just gets better. Inspiring!
(4) If you want to become a better writer, you’ll enjoy my newsletter The Daily Creator. Get simple and actionable tips every Tuesday and Friday. Join 2,300+ others here (FREE):
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I do 1:1 consulting with business leaders to help them build their personal brands and achieve similar outcomes.
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Thanks for reading.
See you next Sunday.