7 Ways Successful Leaders Think Differently
By Dr. Sam Adeyemi
Success or failure. Profit or loss. Logic or chaos.
These are the black-and-white distinctions we are taught exist in the business world. But what if I told you that most successful leaders think very differently?
| Got capital? | No cold feet here. | Fake it till you make it. | Just keep doodling. |
| The founders of AirBnB raised some initial capital by selling their own rebranded breakfast cereals. | The founders of Ben & Jerry’s plunged directly into the business after taking a corresponding course on ice cream making. | The founders of Reddit used multiple fake accounts when the site first launched to give the illusion of traffic. | The creators of Angry Birds got inspired by a frustrated doodle drawn in the wake of their 51st business failure. |
To start finding solutions outside the box and aligning yourself with the most successful leaders, here are seven ways you can think differently.
1. Failure can be good.
Our earliest ideas about failure are shaped by our childhood. Each individual’s background can vary a great deal, but the majority of schooling environments establish more black-and-white boundaries. A failing grade. A losing team. A stern demerit. These are some of the earliest hallmarks of “failure,” and they do nothing to help us welcome or encourage the event. From this moment on, failure is something to be avoided — something to inspire shame and a sense of loss.
The reality is that this is completely untrue. All successful leaders experience failure — so much so that they consider it an inevitable part of the process. Failure is just another moment for growth and another necessary step toward one’s final destination.
What’s the most honest thing Michael Jordan ever said in an interview? That he missed over 9,000 shots during his career. What’s something most people don’t know about Steven Spielberg? That he was rejected both times he applied to film school. Failure is inescapable, but it can lead to greater things.
2. Failure is an event — never a person.
In that very same interview, Michael Jordan admitted that he had been entrusted with the game-winning shot over 26 times… only to fail. Yet, when you search the internet for Michael Jordan’s many cultural nicknames, you don’t see “Misser of Game-Winning Shots” or “Can’t Buy a Bucket Jordan.” Instead, you are met with “Air Jordan,” “His Airness,” “Mr. June,” “Superman,” and “the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time).” Why is that? Because much like the isolated failures of one’s professional career, Michael Jordan’s legacy is not defined by singular actions.
A failure is an event — never a person. When you brand yourself a “failure,” you are allowing everything in your life to be overshadowed by highly specific (and often infrequent) events. This sort of one-sided appraisal runs counter to how we evaluate most everything else in our lives. For example, if we’ve been enjoying lunch at a certain restaurant for several years, we don’t let one subpar experience sully their entire reputation. Similarly, if you fail an exam at school, it does not cancel out every good grade you’ve earned up to that point. No failure should be evaluated in a vacuum.
3. Failure creates priceless knowledge.
Walt Disney is considered one of the most successful “creatives” in history. However, his path to success wasn’t exactly straight. Walt was fired from a newspaper job in Missouri at the age of 22 for “not being creative enough.” His first filming venture, Laugh-O-Gram Studio, was a short-lived failure thanks to poor business decisions. And yet, that same Missouri town provided Walt with his famous “dreaming tree,” a large cottonwood where the young man dreamed up his first cartoons. What’s more, the downtrodden state of Laugh-O-Gram Studio brought mice to the wastebaskets, which inspired the first illustration of the now-beloved Mickey Mouse.
The result is priceless knowledge. Explicit knowledge is easy to access. It is straightforward and often distilled into reading materials and digital presentations. As such, this knowledge is easily transferred from one person to another absent any first-hand involvement. Tacit knowledge, on the other hand, is the product of experience. Its lessons can only be learned through trial and error — failure and success. Tacit knowledge is the driving force behind future success, and accessing such knowledge without failure is all but impossible.
4. Failure can be a source of strength.
When listing his “Maxims and Arrows” in Twilight of the Idols, Friedrich Nietzsche gave special attention to both the inevitability and uplifting potential of failure. Nestled between a questioning of human fallibility and the “principle of brotherly love,” Nietzsche gives voice to a now-timeless perspective: “Out of life’s school of war: what does not destroy me makes me stronger.” To follow this line of thought, one must assume that every missed shot made Michael Jordan a more reliable shooter and every letter of rejection made Steven Spileberg more passionate about film. This “lemonade out of lemons” perspective isn’t always natural, but it is necessary for every successful leader.
If everything works perfectly the first time you attempt it, how will you develop the capacity to endure? Coping with failure and growing from your mistakes are essential parts of being a successful leader, but this is only possible with the right perspective. For those squeezing lemons into lemonade, failure gives you grit. Failure gives you resilience. Every moment your ideas are tested by adversity shapes your values and molds your character to give you the capacity to weather any storms that may come.
5. Both success AND failure are precursors to wisdom.
Behind every successful leader, there are a myriad of mistakes and miscalculations that sharpened their skills and gave birth to their wisdom. These mistakes eventually lead to success, but it is often intermittent and never guaranteed. What IS guaranteed is the wisdom and thoughtfulness that come with each step you take — both forward and backward.
The legendary Jimi Hendrix is quoted as saying, “Knowledge speaks; wisdom listens.” The famous musician isn’t necessarily deriding knowledge so much as he is exalting its hardwon counterpart. Wisdom is the backbone of any mentorship, and it is an essential precursor to the knowledge that is being spoken. The greatest mentors and leaders are capable of sharing the wisdom they’ve won by experiencing failure and enduring hardship. Consequently, both their successes and their failures become stepping stones for those that follow by way of worthwhile mentorship.
6. Both success AND failure are part of the journey.
Pablo Neruda published his now-iconic Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair at the age of 19. As young as that may seem, Neruda had been publishing poems since he was 13, thanks to encouragement at school and in-roads with friendly and noteworthy publishers. His best-selling attempt rocketed him to stardom in Chile and around the world, yet 25 years later he would be in exile from his own government. On the contrary, Walt Whitman toiled in literary obscurity most of his life, and his Leaves of Grass did not find a real American audience until well after his death.
Two successful careers might look very different when examined out of context. Why? Because success and failure go hand in hand, and they are equally part of every journey. When you’re driven and devoted to your goals, no single failure can sully the possibility of future success. Your successes must shake hands with your failures and understand their own interdependence. To put it simply, you can’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs, and all successful leaders have omelets on the menu.
7. The more you try, the more you succeed. Period.
In 1993, Joe Carter was playing for the Toronto Blue Jays — an unremarkable right fielder with an unremarkable batting average. Then, on October 23rd in what would be the final inning of the 1993 World Series, Joe hit a three-run homer to stun the crowd and steal the championship out from under the Philadelphia Phillies. In a single moment, Joe Carter had achieved baseball immortality. How? By showing up to the plate.
If you want to double your successes, you first need to double your failures. There is no success without risk — no triumph with trying. Successful leaders are those who take this wisdom to heart when encouraging team members to take chances, make mistakes, and improve through experience. Professional relationships are driven by cause and effect, and every time you make an attempt, you open up a door (or a window) to future success. To become an inspirational and motivational leader, you must empower others to open every door and lift up every window.
Are you ready to take the road less traveled and be rewarded with wisdom? It’s time to think about success differently, and these are seven ways to get you started.
About the Author: Atlanta-based Dr. Sam Adeyemi (SAY: Ah Day yeh me) is CEO of Sam Adeyemi, GLC, Inc. and founder and executive director of Daystar Leadership Academy (DLA). More than 45,000 alumni have graduated from DLA programs, and more than 3 million CEOs and high performing individuals follow him on top social media sites. Dr. Sam’s new book is “Dear Leader: Your Flagship Guide to Successful Leadership.” He holds a Doctorate in Strategic Leadership from Virginia’s Regent University, and is a member of the International Leadership Association. He and his wife, Nike (say Nee keh) have three children. Learn more at SamAdeyemi.com.