Instinct: The Power to Unleash Your Inborn Drive (12 page)

As you explore all your leadership opportunities—not just the ones at the office—make sure your vehicle has what it takes to navigate the jungles ahead. Once you allow your instinct to fuel your engine, you’re ready to maximize your leadership potential and locate the elephants just around the corner. So take your foot off the brake, ease off the clutch, and let’s shift into the next gear of your instinct-led adventure.

When we harness the synthesis of wisdom from our instincts with ongoing education, instinctive leadership grows stronger and stronger. Instinctive leadership grows from seeds of responsibility and influence.

I recognized this fruitful combination in my oldest son by the way he held his bottle when he was in his crib. I remember so well watching him taking the bottle—quite prematurely, I might add—from his mother. People were amazed at his independence at such an early age. He was only a few months old and he was already holding his bottle like he was a grown man. He was self-contained and has always been rather independent.

Now, to be sure, many years later this characteristic
often caused him to be selected to lock up the house or park the car. But the downside was that it left him without the doting attention many children get. I’ve noticed, even in responding to children, people don’t support independent individuals with the same gravitas they do those who expose their dependency and vulnerability.

And such was the case with my oldest child. He didn’t need as much help getting dressed, or getting in the car, or completing homework, because he showed us that he could do it without us. Instinctively, he gravitated to roles of independence, which is a good thing experientially but can be debilitating emotionally. While independence may signal the genesis of leadership, it is far from the completion of it.

Leadership emerges not only when an individual can capably do what needs doing; the real test is passed when a person can implement what needs to be done through others. If you want to lead by your instincts, then you must ask yourself: can you inspire those who work around you to join your efforts?

Leading by instinct requires you to influence others as you amass a pool of support. If you are to achieve the dreams set before you, it will require a team effort, with many supporting players. Your instincts can help you assemble the best team and retain these talented
individuals, but you must also be able to influence them. Knowing what motivates them to new heights is part of this instinctive influence. Managing conflict, creating innovative solutions, and maintaining your strength of character and moral center also influences others.

People instinctively want to trust the leader they follow. They want to believe he or she is worthy of their investment of time and effort. They want to know that their leaders will recognize their value and enhance their skill set. Instinctive leaders know that if they cannot influence those around them, then their boundaries shrink. You can’t produce as much product, distribute it, maintain it, and extend in new directions without influencing others. Your capital is also limited without the ability to influence others.

If you rely only on yourself, then your income is limited by you being your only resource. If you want to be a great doctor, then practice medicine. But if you want to be wealthy, successful, and expand your ability to bring healing to your community, then open up an office and hire several doctors. In the pursuit of hands-on businesses, always know that there will be a salary cap. The cap comes as you realize that no matter how fruitful you may be, you remain limited unless you can reduplicate your capabilities and extend your vision to others.

If you lead by instinct, then you will know your
priorities. Increasing the size of your business, influence, and income may not be as important as protecting your privacy, maintaining stability, and enjoying ample leisure time. You instinctively know what you want, so don’t lead yourself and others to someone else’s destination. You may prize independence over innovation. However, if your natural instinct for independence remains unchecked, you may not mature.

Independent leaders may be surrounded by people but refuse to use their influence as well as to be influenced by their team members. In fact, people typically don’t assist independent leaders because they look like they can handle it all alone. If you send the signal that you don’t need help, then others will receive it accordingly.

While I applaud that you can do it alone, always remember that if you can do a task, you will always have a job. But if you know why the task must be tackled, then you can delegate others to work for you! The why and the when of a task is inclusive of leadership instincts. While the how-to-do-it will always lead to a job, if you want more than just a job, you must know the why and when of a thing and not just the how.

While instinctive leaders know they must balance independence with influence, they must also balance
risk with responsibility. It can be frightening to move from a one-person pursuit of a dream to a team approach. When I hired my first administrative assistant, I was deathly afraid of being responsible for her salary and benefits. I took comfort in the fact that her husband had a good-paying job, so if my enterprise failed, then she would not go hungry or lose her home.

However, a short time later, I needed to expand the vision and take another risk toward fulfilling my destiny. I hired a man who gave up his job to come and work for me, and I was burdened by the weight of feeling responsible for his success as well as my own. While it was tempting to try and be Superman for everyone I hired, ultimately, I realized that they were aware of the risks and nonetheless wanted to be part of something bigger.

Independent leaders also discover the emotional toll of their self-sufficiency even after they have assembled a team and delegated their responsibilities. Since they are often denied help when others logically assume they don’t need it, they keep assuming it’s all up to them alone. Independent leaders sometimes have to overcome the instinct to be a lone wolf and instead lead the pack.

When you operate independently in the midst of your team, it stunts their growth as well as your own. You don’t want to lead a task, run a business, direct a philanthropy, or guide a church if your stakeholders assume you don’t need their help. If you want to lead
by your instincts, then you must create a vision large enough that you cannot achieve it alone. You want something so much bigger than you that you must delegate to a team.

Interdependence is the real indicator that a strong leader is emerging. Anything you can lead alone isn’t much. You want something that is so far beyond your own capabilities that it will require a task force to achieve the goal. So don’t pick something your own size. Make the garment of your dreams big enough for the child of your labors to grow into it.

If you have the courage to take on a project that requires assistance, other gifted people will become invested in your cause. I’ve found that people are much more willing to galvanize around a mission and not just the man. Inspirational leaders ignite a spark within us that compels us to be part of the blaze they are lighting. When you inspire people to come on board with you, you are evolving into an instinctive leader.

Do you remember the 2008 Democratic primaries when then Senator Hillary Clinton was running against then Senator Barack Obama? It was certainly a memorable race. The ratings on the networks were
sky-high and the entire world was watching as our nation conducted an ongoing conversation about who should hold the Oval Office. Frequently, some pundit or commentator asked: when the phone rings at three in the morning, which candidate would be most adept at answering that call? Which would answer and provide us with the security of their leadership?

We know the results of that race, but election time is not the only season when we must assess our instinctive leadership qualities. Life continuously makes a call for leadership. This call is often a cause, ringing through a problem, need, or conflict. Others say, “Someone should do something,” while leaders are already doing it. Leaders may have fears or uncertainties, but they instinctively take responsibility for finding a solution. They refuse to allow their emotions to get in the way of their actions.

Those who shy away from such turbulence are not meant to answer the call. Most followers become frantic not focused. They despair when the call comes and find it much easier to speculate around the water cooler than to articulate what needs to be done, let alone to do it. Reflecting back on my safari excursion, I realize that it’s easier to compile data on elephants than to track their habits and locate them in their natural habitat.

Leaders don’t sidestep the challenge but get in lockstep with it. They are motivated by finding a way through the challenge, by creating a win-win
for all stakeholders, and by using their influence for increased efficiency. The challenges you’re facing right now can usher you into a new level of instinctive leadership. The way you respond to the trials of life will reveal what you’re made of.

You instinctively know you can lead in the jungles in which you find yourself. Don’t allow the criticisms of others or the distractions of the urgent to deter you from your destiny. Instinctive leaders know that they must keep their identity, purpose, and passion before them in order to navigate successfully through the mazes and minefields.

Several years ago when I was taking media training, an instructor told me there’s no such thing as a bad question. The only thing that matters in media is the response, not the question. I quickly learned that most journalists ask questions, but they only print answers. The question isn’t as newsworthy as the answer. In the same way that a journalist’s question pales in significance to the response the interviewee gives, the same is true for this call of opportunity. Life is placing a demand on you.
The demand isn’t as significant as your purpose.

The demands of life don’t matter nearly as much as your response; this distinction forms delineation between impressive and inspirational. How will you respond to the challenge in your life right now? Will you merely acquiesce to the issue, succumb to the avoidance of opportunity? Or will you chart your course, stabilize your process, and organize your assets
as you take on the challenge before you? When opportunity calls, instinctive leaders answer every time.

For years I’ve believed that God usually promotes us to our level of tolerance for pain. So when you whine about being overwhelmed and unable to inspire others to join you, in essence you’re saying, “Don’t take me any higher. I can’t handle any more.” Start pushing something that you can’t carry and watch how people will come to your aid. But pick up a box you can manage, and people will simply watch you carry the load. Instinctive leadership never retreats from chaotic questions, unreasonable demands, and burdensome boxes.

Most of us carry loads so fragile that there is little room for mishap. However, I evaluate instinctive leaders by their response to troublesome dilemmas. The better you are at responding to a challenge, the more apt you are to succeed. Followers avoid responsibility by avoiding leadership. They have no ramifications as long as they do what they are told. Consequently, their leaders must do the telling. Similarly, a follower obeys directives responsively but rarely takes the initiative to be proactive or to embrace a challenge head on.

Instinctive leaders set the trend. They respond to crises and handle the mishaps of life, minimizing
damages and maximizing opportunities. An instinctive leader radiates an air of confidence and composure that attracts and energizes those around them.

People don’t follow popularity; they admire it but they don’t build on it. They do build, however, on good leadership. Employees often put the house up for sale, pull the kids out of school, and take out a new mortgage in a new city, all because they received a call from an instinctive leader. Since good followers count on sharing a larger vision, a leader without a strategy is like going joyriding in a car without steering. People don’t feel safe following someone who doesn’t think ahead, creating an enticing vision of success and yet planning for problems.

Instinctive leaders manage the dismal, the distracted, and the dangerous. They view these impositions and oppositions as opportunities to test their strength, exercise their talent, and expand their vision. It is stressful but rewarding, tiring yet tempting. Instinctive leadership finds accomplishment in its ability to navigate a response to challenges by proactive and reactive reasoning.

Life
will
bring challenges. Try all you want to avoid trouble, but you’re liable to run into a tornado when running away from a windstorm! Sometimes you can know all that research can teach you and will have memorized all kinds of contingency plans. And yet when trouble strikes, you discover fears you didn’t know you had. Instinctive leadership is courage in
action. It cuts through the intensity of the crisis and responds with strength, agility, and urgency.

I once employed a security agent who knew volumes of information about law enforcement, protection, and crime prevention. He could teach the role, and he definitely looked the part. However, his intellect could not compensate for weak instincts. When we encountered gunplay at the Dallas–Fort Worth airport, he actually ran off and left me in the middle of the danger!

My security agent was not a bad person, but he simply could not be effective in a reactive situation. He could talk about hypothetical scenarios and classroom defense techniques, but in the heat of real danger, his training went out the window. Needless to say, I replaced him with someone whose knowledge was matched by their instinctive leadership.

Under pressure we have a tendency to go to our default settings. I guess his default instinct was stuck on flight instead of fight. Maybe you or I would’ve been tempted to do the same in a similar situation; it’s fascinating to see what pressure produces in any of us. Sometimes we can’t know our instincts from our insecurities until we go from the frying pan into the fire a few times.