Show Notes:

Nature or nurture? “Both play a role. They’re not just these two opposing forces. They really integrate with one another. Of course, there are going to be certain factors as it relates to growing a business or being a leader. From the nature standpoint, you may have greater risk tolerance. You may be just better with ambiguity. You may be more resilient or hungrier. Those could be natural traits, but a lot of it is also going to be a function of your environment, your experiences, your education, mentorship, and community. All those help to shape you. So the takeaway is not whether it’s nature or nurture, but that these coincide and one really helps to shape the other — and the best approach is really to nurture one’s nature. Take the way you are, not necessarily saying that you have to change the human being, but with the strengths that you have, nurturing those strengths. That is what can lead you to being really a great leader.”

Why some leaders are left behind as your business grows. “Somebody can start, and they’re growing. They’re developing at first. They’re excited about the leadership development that’s coming with that. They’re excited at the company as it’s growing and it’s hitting new points of complexity. Everything’s going smoothly. They go from zero to 60. They made that first leap. But as that complexity increases, as the firm starts to evolve more and more, those demands don’t stop — but many people do. Whether they develop a degree of complacency or they just feel they’ve gotten to this point and they start to get used to things and saying like…‘Now that I’ve made this commitment or I’ve developed these skills, I no longer have to continue developing skills.’ That’s really the wrong mindset. The development never stops. The learning never stops. The increasing capability should never stop.”

Not everyone is cut out for leadership. “Not everyone should be a leader. I think leadership has been glamorized in some ways, where I don’t see anything glamorous about leadership. I think in people’s minds (those who are not leaders), they think that leaders are sitting around smoking cigars, hanging out, and having martinis and just looking at the organization like cogs in a wheel. In reality, leaders are the ones dealing with very, very difficult problems and challenges. It’s a very different competency that’s required as a leader than it is as an individual contributor. There are articles out there of like the makers versus the managers, and they’re just two very, very different competencies.”

The traits of great leaders. “Great leaders have humility. They’re open-minded. They’re always learning. They’re extremely coachable. They take ownership. I could go on and on, but it’s just somebody who’s a constant student. It is not the type of person who believes they have all the answers, by any means.”

EPISODE RESOURCES & REFERENCES
2023 Game Changers Summit
John Maxwell
Netflix