In her seminal TED Talk entitled The Power of Vulnerability, research professor and storyteller Dr Brené Brown shares how her research on the topic of connection unexpectedly introduced her to a group of people she calls the wholehearted.
The wholehearted have a strong internal sense of love and belonging, and believe they are worthy of love and belonging from others. What they have in common is: courage, compassion, connection, and vulnerability – which although standalone characteristics – are very much interrelated, as the act of one is often informed by the existence of the other. These features are often undervalued when talking (about leadership and living) in Africa; but I believe we are living in a time which requires that we put these at the centre of our leadership [and living] . If honed and applied consistently, these qualities can result in us leading more humanely, effectively, and in transformative ways for the greater benefit of all.
Over the next few days, I will share some personal thoughts on these features.
Let’s start with courage.
Inherent in the term courage is the ability to face head-on the challenge or obstacle, regardless of the fear that may exist. Words that often spring to mind include bravery, nerve, and fortitude, especially when facing an intractable oppressive group or system. These elements of courage are crucial to possess, especially when required to stand firmly on our moral convictions for the greater good.
A component of courage we often fall short in, however, which the wholehearted group possess, is the courage to be imperfect.
Essayist Anaïs Nin once said, “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” When we are courageous enough to embrace being imperfect in our leadership – being willing for example, to take calculated risks by following uncharted paths in our strategies or programmatic components – we expand possibilities for ourselves, our teams, and the impact of our work. The need to have the perfect plan before implementing may limit the ability to innovate at the right opportunity. Often trying new approaches that will bring about significant shifts in our organisations or sectors involves being agile enough to adapt and iterate as we progress in the implementation because the “perfect” tactic we had in our strategizing looks very different when implementing. Leadership which sets a culture that encourages people to have courage to be imperfect allows the organisation to be more ambitious in what it can achieve in this fast-paced, ever-changing, imperfect world.
A crucial element for me to a culture that embraces the courage to be imperfect is cultivating what Professor of Psychology at Stanford University Dr Carol Dweck and her colleagues termed the growth mindset. This is the capacity to understand that abilities, skills, competencies, and intelligence can be continuously developed over one’s lifespan. This is contrary to a fixed mindset, which believes that traits and talents are fixed – you either have the goods or you don’t. Such people often avoid problems or conflicts out of a fear of failure. They are most likely the ones who will lack the courage to be imperfect.
Often leaders confuse the pursuit of excellence, with the unyielding demand for perfection. A leadership that embraces a growth mindset relinquishes the need to be perfect, or demand perfection from those they lead. Instead, with a growth mindset, they create a culture where team members feel safe to experiment with ideas, and see shortcomings in efforts and results not as failure, but opportunities to learn and grow. Most great inventions in the arts, science and technology were achieved from a growth mindset.
So we only sell ourselves short and our potential to be innovative when we don’t have the courage to be imperfect. And to simply try, try, and try again. Knowing that each attempt after “failure” was not failing at all.
But from learning, improving, and growing.
*Judy Sikuza is the CEO of The Mandela Rhodes Foundation. She is passionate about education and leadership development, finding deep meaning in projects that seek to give every human being an opportunity to fulfil their highest potential.
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