Leadership: angel and monster - Mother Teresa and Lady Gaga

Published: 2011-07-22   There are 8 comments ... please add yours below

We all want the success pill. But, most of us fail to find it. Not least since we’re unwilling to be different. And, even for those who find it, the pill isn’t a quick-acting one. The key is endless practice and perseverance. Check the winners podium. There you’ll see maverick business people like Richard Branson and Steve Jobs – and also others, like Mother Teresa and Lady Gaga. A charity worker and an entertainer. What’s their secret? Here are five things you could explore.

1. Make it PERSONAL: Jobs and Branson are the personification of their companies. Or, more accurately, Apple and Virgin are the corporatisation of Jobs and Branson. They are mascots as much as managers. Neither these two nor Lady Gaga and Mother Teresa were ever accused of being shrinking violets. It’s about them – but also you! They let you know who they are and reach out for you to join them as they change the world. They’re all the subject of books. They have fans but also critics. They’re out there. Takes courage!
2. Have an appealing PURPOSE: whether that’s to upend the digital world or help the marginalised. In each case, the questions driving the leader’s story have both clarity and force. For Lady Gaga they are summarised (in The Economist column referenced above) as: who am I; who are we; and, where are we going together? No wonder such leaders attract supporters – whether amongst techos, the fashionable or Lady Gaga’s teenagers, who feel ill-at-ease in the world.
3. Establish unusual POSITIONING: while pundits talk up good behaviour, we often follow leaders, who step way outside it. People, who’re passionate. Who innovate and take risks. For whom, the journey has no final destination. For them, there’s always more to do – to make the world better, whether with groundbreaking products, better travel options, less poverty or enfranchising those, who feel misunderstood. For them, their leader must be a beacon of hope and change.
4. Be relentless in your PROMOTION: figures in history often create their own PR (as Napoleon did in reporting his battles, often gilding the truth) or write the history (as Churchill did) or, as with our current four, ensuring they constantly generate news – in Lady Gaga’s case reinforcing her unique social media profile. Like her, you may even have your special words and language. Would anyone else call their followers “monsters”?
5. Deliver PERFORMANCE: The Economist column fails to address this element. Without it, none of our four would be anything other than noisy exhibitionists. Paris Hiltons notable only for being notable. Their differentiation is combining talent, hard work and continual innovation to supercharge their image – delivering today and constantly promising more for the future.

The Economist writer is correct in recognising the importance of people like both the Mother Angel and the Lady Monster – and all their corporate equivalents. However, the article strays when it speaks about the need for “charisma” or the more contemporary “leadership projection”. For me, these are the outcomes. Lazy shorthand expressions. The challenge is to find the actions you need to take to emulate Lady Gaga, who has the “ability to build emotional commitment.” For me, that’s the essence of leadership: creating followership. What’s your view?

Dr. Timothy Pascoe AM
PhD (Cambridge), MBA (Harvard), BE & BEc (Adelaide)
Creator, V|E|C|T|O|R Leadership^®