The following blog comes from a previous post by Pete Kuehni
Recently, I met with a group of owners who were exploring a business opportunity. In what could have become a very challenging process, we all came away quite moved by how well it unfolded.
Moved; not because of the business opportunity, although it appears very possible. Moved; not because the long-term implications are significant, should the opportunity become real. I was moved; they were moved!
We were moved by something much more powerful than a business opportunity, power, money, position, and all the other things that can so easily entangle us as owners and leaders. Hebrews 12:1-3 NLT
What moved me was the humility and deep-spirited commitment each leader demonstrated to one another Philippians 2:1-5 MSG.
Each leader chose to humble himself. Each leader chose to pursue what was best, not just good. Each leader chose, in the midst of the pressure, to create space to hear God’s voice in that time. Knowing each leader well, the choice to create this space was not necessarily a natural thing to do. Each leader has more than a full plate at work and at home.
Jim Collins, in his research-based book “Good To Great”, outlines what is needed for a “good” company to become a “great” company. One of the keys for this shift to occur is what he called “Level 5 Leadership”. In short, a Level 5 Leader is one who operates with 2 key attributes, among other things.
The first attribute is an unswerving resolve, a gripping tenacity, and a resilience that just never gives up. The second is a deep, genuine humility.
Here is how Collins described this humility in the context of leading teams. When things were going well with the team, the Level 5 Leader would look out the window and ask, “What is this team doing so well that has it producing these amazing results?
When things were not going well with the team, the Level 5 Leader would look in the mirror and ask, “What is it about me that is getting in the way of this team achieving what is needed?”
What Jim Collins discovered about the Level 5 Leader is what we had experienced, over time, as a group of leaders. For relationships to work well; for the needed business results to be delivered by our teams, we must be willing to look in the mirror first. To do otherwise is to deflect the fundamental accountability we own as leaders.
In my experience, the default for most leaders is to look out the “window” first; to find out what the team did wrong. Earlier in my career, my default, especially under pressure, was to “look out the window” first and place the weight on my team for things not going well. Thankfully, God has been patiently adjusting that mindset in me. Romans 8:5 NIV
How about you? When things are not going well, where do you look first…window or mirror?
