The Eight Paradoxes of Great Leadership

1. Uncommon Leaders Balance Both Confidence and Humility

True authority and true leadership come from knowing who you are and not pretending to be anything else.

Leading in complexity. Today's volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world demands leaders who can inspire certainty while remaining adaptable. People crave confidence from their leaders, especially when circumstances are unclear. This confidence provides direction, energy, and a sense of security, making the leader believable and their mission attractive.

Beware of arrogance. However, unchecked confidence can morph into ego, blinding leaders to reality and alienating teams. Great leaders temper their confidence with humility, acknowledging their limitations and the contributions of others. This balance makes confidence believable, signals transparency, invites collaboration, and makes the leader magnetic.

Confidence plus humility. Leaders like Bob Iger, who balanced his confidence with a humble, teachable mindset, built trust and collaboration. He wasn't afraid to admit what he didn't know, asking questions and leveraging the expertise of others, even those less experienced. This paradoxical approach attracts the best people and fosters a culture where the best ideas win, regardless of source.

2. Uncommon Leaders Leverage Both Their Vision and Their Blind Spots

Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know. That can be your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from everyone else.

Vision provides direction. Great leaders possess a clear, compelling vision that sets a target and energizes their team. This internal foresight propels them forward, allowing them to see possibilities before they are externally manifest. Without vision, leaders can only manage, not innovate or inspire significant change.

Blind spots enable innovation. Paradoxically, a leader's blind spots—their lack of awareness of conventional obstacles or past failures—can be a powerful asset. Not knowing "how things are supposed to be done" or all the reasons something might fail can free leaders to try unconventional, innovative approaches that veterans might dismiss. This "rookie smarts" can bypass traditional roadblocks.

Leveraging both. Leaders like Sara Blakely (Spanx) combined a clear vision for shapewear with a lack of industry experience that allowed her to ignore traditional distribution channels and marketing methods. This blend of foresight and fortunate ignorance enabled her to create a new market. The key is to "marry the problem" you're solving, staying stubborn about the need, while "dating your methods," remaining open-minded about how to solve it.

3. Uncommon Leaders Embrace Both Visibility and Invisibility

People do what people see.

Visible leadership inspires. In the early stages of a mission or during times of uncertainty, people need a visible leader who models the way. Leaders who demonstrate values through action, pick up trash, make tough calls, and embody the vision build credibility and moral authority. Their example is far more powerful than words alone, especially in a world saturated with inauthentic facades.

Invisible leadership empowers. As teams mature, leaders must learn to step back and become "invisible" to allow others to step up and take ownership. This shift from empowering by example to empowering by experience is crucial for scaling and developing talent. Leaders must trust that their modeling has taken hold and create space for others to lead, speak, and make decisions.

The balancing act. Leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. masterfully balanced visibility (leading marches, giving speeches, meeting presidents) with invisibility (allowing himself to be jailed, stepping back from the spotlight) to mobilize others and advance the civil rights movement. This paradox is like teaching a child to ride a bike: providing support initially, then letting go. The "Big IDEA" (Instruction, Demonstration, Experience, Assessment) provides a framework for this transition, ensuring teams are equipped before the leader fades into the background.

4. Uncommon Leaders Are Both Stubborn and Open-Minded

The most incredibly interesting thing about being a leader is what adjustments you make and how you make them while keeping your core principles alive and well.

Stubbornness drives conviction. Leaders need a strong, stubborn will to overcome obstacles and stay committed to their core ideals. Without this tenacity, they can be easily swayed by opposition or changing trends, failing to achieve significant goals. This unwavering commitment to values, like Truett Cathy's insistence on quality and closing on Sundays, provides stability and clarity.

Open-mindedness fosters adaptability. Yet, leaders must also be open-minded, willing to listen to counsel, adapt to changing realities, and embrace new ideas, even from unexpected sources. Clinging rigidly to old methods in a dynamic world leads to stagnation. Leaders must be flexible enough to seize new opportunities and improve processes, recognizing that methods are secondary to the mission.

The productive tension. Leaders like Truett Cathy were stubborn about core values (people, quality) but open-minded about methods (restaurant location, menu items, charitable giving). Captain Michael Abrashoff of the USS Benfold was clear on the goal ("best damn ship") but open to sailors' ideas (stainless steel bolts). This paradox allows leaders to stay focused on the "hole" (the problem/mission) rather than falling in love with the "drill bit" (the current solution/product), ensuring they remain relevant and effective.

5. Uncommon Leaders Are Both Deeply Personal and Inherently Collective

Great leaders are inherently collective, and yet deeply personal.

Collective vision unites. Leaders must articulate a clear, collective vision that unites the entire team or organization towards a shared goal. They represent the group, speaking for them and guiding the overall direction. This big-picture perspective is essential for alignment and coordinated effort, especially in large or complex endeavors.

Personal connection motivates. Simultaneously, great leaders connect with individuals on a deeply personal level, showing empathy, understanding their unique struggles, and tailoring their approach. They see the person behind the role, recognizing that individual well-being and contribution are vital to collective success. This personal touch builds trust and loyalty.

Balancing the scales. Leaders like Mother Teresa focused on serving "one person" at a time, yet built a global collective. Rudy Giuliani, during 9/11, provided collective updates while attending personal funerals. In times of crisis, leaders must prioritize personal check-ins before business, hard conversations before easy ones, and the big picture before details. This balance, fueled by social intelligence (awareness, attunement, empathy), allows leaders to win the "story wars" by creating a narrative that is both scalable and personal.

6. Uncommon Leaders Are Both Teachers and Learners

Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.

Teachers impart knowledge. Leaders are inherently teachers, sharing their vision, expertise, and lessons learned to guide and develop their teams. They clarify concepts, demonstrate best practices, and provide instruction. This teaching role is crucial for building competence and ensuring the team is equipped to achieve its goals.

Learners stay relevant. In today's rapidly changing world, leaders must also be perpetual learners. They remain curious, seek new information, and are open to insights from anyone, regardless of experience or position. This willingness to learn, unlearn, and relearn is essential for adapting to new paradigms and avoiding the "normalization of defects" that can lead to stagnation or failure.

The dynamic duo. Leaders like Angela Ahrendts (Burberry) taught her executive team about digital strategy while learning from young staff about reaching millennials. Steve Jobs, even at Stanford commencement, shared lessons from his struggles, modeling vulnerability and continuous learning. This paradox requires emotional security to accept insights from others and a commitment to making things better. It involves seeking outside perspectives, practicing reverse mentoring, and viewing interruptions as opportunities for new introductions.

7. Uncommon Leaders Model Both High Standards and Gracious Forgiveness

Leaders choose the motivation of their followers through their leadership style.

High standards drive excellence. Uncommon leaders set exceptionally high standards, pushing themselves and their teams beyond average expectations. They are sticklers for quality and performance, believing in the potential for greatness. This relentless pursuit of excellence, like Harriet Tubman's military-like discipline or Walt Disney's insistence on "no chipped paint," elevates the entire organization.

Forgiveness enables risk. However, demanding high standards without offering forgiveness for mistakes can paralyze teams with fear, leading to risk aversion and mediocrity. Great leaders balance high expectations with gracious forgiveness, creating a "safety net" where people feel empowered to try, fail, learn, and recover. This environment fosters devotion over mere duty.

The powerful combination. Leaders like John Maxwell consistently held high standards but was forgiving of mistakes, encouraging his team to try and learn. Tom Watson Jr. of IBM saw a multi-million dollar mistake as an investment in an executive's education. This paradox counters society's pull towards "good enough" by fostering an environment where striving for excellence is safe. It requires clarity on goals, modeling accountability, extending trust, and focusing on learning from setbacks.

8. Uncommon Leaders Are Both Timely and Timeless

Don’t get intimidated by the speed of the world. However, the faster we move, the more important it is to remember our values.

Timeless principles provide anchors. Great leaders are grounded in timeless principles and values that remain constant across generations and contexts. These serve as a moral compass and a stable foundation amidst change. Leaders like Walt Disney blended timeless virtues with futuristic vision, creating experiences that felt both nostalgic and cutting-edge.

Timely methods ensure relevance. Simultaneously, leaders must be timely, adapting their methods, strategies, and products to remain relevant in the current cultural landscape. They leverage new technologies and understand emerging trends. This requires a willingness to evolve, repurpose, and innovate, like the creators of Play-Doh who adapted a cleaning product into a toy.

Navigating change. This paradox is like a swing set (swinging back to learn from the past, swinging forward to embrace the future) and a plumb line (using timeless values to ensure new initiatives are "true"). Leaders must identify their "plumb lines" for ethics, innovation, and pace of change. They need "drafters"—people ahead of them who help them adapt. In an "Intelligence Age" where technology outpaces our morals, remaining timeless (ethical, value-driven) is more critical than ever, even as we strive to be timely (innovative, relevant).

Last updated: July 11, 2025