Balancing Your Views with Others

Comparing ourselves to others can be useful, and it’s also very natural. Why we do this may vary: we may be curious about others, look to others for validation, or maybe want to relate through similarities.

When done in excess, comparisons don’t serve. Why? Because one mark of a brilliant leader is having the confidence to pave a path that starts with your own point of view. However, I can tell you that when not done at all, it’s equally risky.

I used to have an aversion to checking myself against others. I thought if I learned about—and then (likely) followed—what others were doing, then I’d be at greater risk of being just another sheep in the herd. At work, I would keep my ear to the ground and think deeply about what was needed to solve each challenge, while my superiors would nearly always ask me to find out what other companies were doing. I abhorred those requests, especially because we would often pay benchmarking institutes a lot of money to often find out we were already on the right track. I felt conflicted as I was putting so much trust in my own sense of what was needed for a given situation.

I’ve been this way most of my life, relying on my internal “compass of knowing” which often points me in the right direction. Of course, there have been occasions when I didn’t trust my own compass…usually when others would question me, at which point I begin to doubt myself. I have come to realize that I was, in fact, over-relying on my own views and dismissing others’ too quickly.

Today, I seek and welcome others’ perspectives as an opportunity to check my resolve, grow my confidence, and broaden my mind to new possibilities. Even when I have a ‘sixth sense’ of what I think must be done, I know to check that with other views to produce a richer outcome. And when I’m uncertain about how to proceed, I find great comfort learning what others are doing.

We created The LAITHOS Way™ as a guide for your leadership impact. I use this guidance every day for my own leadership journey, which is infinite. This ‘balancing act’ requires that a leader operate from a strong core (e.g., values, intentions, convictions) which helps expand influence with others and can transform your horizons. Paving a path as a leader is not some ultimate ‘thing’ to be accomplished. Rather, it’s about a continual evolution towards taking responsibility for our impact and showing up as leaders in our lives.

This Week’s Challenge: How do you pave a path to leadership brilliance? What’s your way of moving forward while balancing your own views with those of others? Do you know your impact with the people around you? Paving a path is not merely about the horizons ahead, but also the trail you leave behind to inspire others towards their own leadership brilliance.