255,207. Search “leadership” in Amazon and that’s the number of publications that will come up. With the plethora of ideas out there, is it possible to get to the heart of what leadership truly is? Val Jon Farris, CEO of Diamius Multinational Consulting Firm thinks so. With over two decades of experience conducting leadership development programs, he recalls that the more classes and seminars leaders go to, the more jaded they become.
“It diverts them from their innate knowledge of leadership. Doing a leader is not being a leader,” he says. Without an internal “leadership” compass, an abundance of misdirected actions can occur. Leadership is more than a checklist of best practices and lists. In this podcast, Val explains his thoughts behind this theory.
Having an innate understanding of what it means to be a leader is a major key to leadership success. “Leadership needs to be intentional and inherent,” he says, “The only person you can ever truly lead is yourself.” While he does not believe that everyone has a “leader” inside of them, he does believe that some people can take this approach to cultivate their inner trailblazer.
He stumbled upon this approach while working under the mentorship of inventor and world class engineer, Buckminster "Bucky" Fuller. Bucky believed in taking care of “Spaceship Earth” and all inhabitants of it. Val took this to heart and, over time, began to slowly shift his leadership style from “critic” to “education”. “I realized that things worked better when I put my pride aside and focused on making things work,” he recalls.
A second revelation occurred while he was ice climbing Mt. Shasta with some friends. After nearly falling to his death, he refused help from his fellow climbers. After taking a moment to step back, he realized that his ego was preventing him to getting the help he desperately needed at that moment. In fact, it was putting his entire team in needless danger.
“In that moment, I realized that I needed to move away from my ego – which was denying the help from my team, and move towards how I really felt—scared, shaken up and in need of assistance,” he says.
Listening to yourself and allowing your heart to influence your leadership decision is a crucial part of gaining your teams trust. Additionally, it provides space for others to flex their leadership skills. He calls this concept ‘holding space for someone’.
“I like to give my team space, while investing in them to be their very best. They’ll do so in their own way. They just need to know that you’re supporting them.”
What do you think about Val Farris’ theory? What’s driving the core of your leadership? Tweet us @WiseNapkin with your answers!
