The 9C's of leadership paradigm style #3 – From Clumsy to Conquerer

We all start at the bottom left corner. “Clumsy”!

I hear often about “natural born leaders” – usually from the same people who believe that leadership cannot be developed (and when I dig deeper, I find that these same people are not ‘natural born leaders’ and cannot be bothered to put in the effort to actually develop their leadership thus, leadership is ‘natural’ becomes the excuse.)

Let me put my stake in the ground here.

No-one is a born leader!

You are born as a baby. You are not born as the CEO of megacorp inc.

Do some individuals seem to show their leadership attributes and abilities more easily than others… sure they do. Just as some people have better hand-eye coordination and find sports easier to excel at. Some are great musicians. Now if you can find one person who is a ‘born leader’ who had never ever developed themselves, practiced and is a truly good leader I will eat 3 golf balls for my lunch.

Now, got that off my chest. We all start as “Clumsy” leaders – clumsy golfers too. A few leaders remain clumsy. They possess little of the technical aptitude of doing leadership, and little of the mindset or attributes of being a leader. If you are young, this is perfectly acceptable. If you are new to a formal leadership role, this is acceptable. But, if you are the leader of a country, it is not really acceptable.

• It was not that difficult to think of a famous ‘clumsy’ leader. The first that cam to my mind was George W. Bush. Now of course, this could be utterly wrong. He was indeed the president of the United States. And some claim that he was actually very bright and intelligent. Somehow though, for me, his actions were, well, clumsy. His mind set and attitude. Sometimes belligerent, and often, ‘sixpence short of a shilling’. It is possible that George W. was in fact incredibly bright, intelligent and such a great leader that had he been born into another family, perhaps one that didn’t have quite so much oil for breakfast that he would have still aspired to and achieved the incredible heights of leader of the USA… or perhaps he got the job because he was a useful front man?
• Clumsy golfers? There are plenty. None that I know of who are famous though. Why would Ben from my local club be known to you when he takes 7 swings to strike a ball, and about 300 strokes to complete a round… on the 5 hole executive course?

No-one likes to remain clumsy. You have a choice.

1. Give up
2. Learn how to do it

And the most common form of leadership (and golf) development, is learning how to DO it.

So, the clumsy leader buys a few leadership books… 7 Habits, Dummies Guide to leadership. The favourite during the 90’s of course was to go get an MBA.

The Coarse Leader

With some technical development in the DOING of leadership, you become a “Coarse” leader.

This leader is actually more manager than ‘leader’. Often process oriented, this person finds the rule book and sometimes throws it. Coarse leaders can be very very effective. The armed forces are filled with coarse leaders. They can shout louder to get things done. And , when struggling to communicate, the most effective action is to raise the voice. Forceful gesticulations and arm movements enable the coarse leader to vent some frustrations.

• Coarse leaders abound. You’ve met at least one in the past month. The more extreme politicians tend to be coarse leaders. Trading floors overflow with them. In business, pre-dominantly male, high testosterone, almost brilliant.
• Coarse golfers also abound. Few are famous. John Daley has his moments, though in recent years he’s calmed somewhat. The loud mouthed club golfer – often seen driving a Porsche.

The Conqueror

On the golf course, this player dominates. Blasting a drive as far as possible brings great joy. The conqueror plays to shorten every hole and every shot – going for broke every time. Often an exhibitionist player and like to brag about their prowess.

Long carries over water whet the conquerors appetite – long par 5’s with a copse on the dogleg right to over-fly bring pulses of energy and make the endorphins flow.

As a leader, the conqueror revels in adversity and challenge, is technically excellent and seldom backs out of a confrontation if offered. The more impossible others consider the position, the more the conqueror defies the odds. They want results, and they want them now. Excuses will bring wrath, and success will bring a new challenge. Seldom satisfied with the result, it can always be better.

• Golf players who are conquerors include: Greg Norman, Bubba Watson, Arnold Palmer, Sam Sneed
• Famous leader conquerors include: Margaret Thatcher, Carly Fiorina, Lee Ka Shing, John Chambers, Michael Dell, David Johnson