Exceptional individuals, teams, and leaders are always under construction and growing. They love to be around exceptional people and hear all sides of their big ideas. They love mixing it up with energetic, edgy people just this side of chaos. They habitually study, learn, and apply not to get smarter, but instead to get stronger. They are like Leonardo, insatiably curious. They believe nobody is as smart as everybody, and live accordingly. Do not miss this. This is not a normal person’s perspective.
Exceptional individuals, teams, and leaders surround themselves with diverse, independent, and energetic people and trust these peoples’ collective wisdom, even over their own. Talk about unconventional and chaotic! Everything about our system tells us this must be wrong. Experts are better than ameteurs. People are smart, but crowds are stupid. Everything rises and falls on leadership. CEO’s are better decision makers than their collective team members. This is a whole new perspective, isn’t it.
James Surowiecki, in his book, The Wisdom of Crowds, presents a compelling argument for his new perspective, but warns that most organizations are not prepared. He highlights the four conditions that cause group intelligence as follows:
- Diversity of opinion
- Independence
- Decentralization
- Aggregation
Intelligent groups do not reward conformity and consensus, but instead they embrace disagreement, contest, and productive fights. Individuals, teams, and leaders with this perspective have learned what it means to really fight to improve performance, not to prove a point. This team is not normal. This team is operating just this side of chaos. This team is BUILT TO LEAD. What about yours?
- How diverse is your team?
- Are different worldviews not only respected and accepted but also invited, encouraged, and actively recruited?
- How often does your team fight to improve performance? Tell me more.
- Is the majority of your team comprised of individuals with strong CORES?
Good…
BUILT TO LEAD 