Legendary WD-40 CEO Garry Ridge knows what it takes to be a great leader. For one thing, leaders have to be self-aware. “Every good leader I know has to be tough when they need to and tender when they need to. The sweet spot is in the middle” he said. “ Ridge also believes employees choose leaders, not the other way around. “You need the will of the people. Help them want to choose you,” he said.
If you’re a handful of years into your managerial career, that can be daunting. When you’re still figuring out who you are as a leader and struggling to get the ragtag Rebel Alliance of your department to follow you like you’re Obi-Wan Kenobi, how do you show up authentically while trudging through a training program designed to squish the originality out of you like a Cabernet grape?
We’ll say right now that automatically taking the Rare Breed-esque route—shrugging off your corporate professional development regimen—isn’t always the play. Could the development track your bosses have you on actually serve your goals, short- or long-term?
Some organizations are champs at professional growth, such as Deloitte, which sends its people to the immersive, experiential Deloitte University, where each intern and new hire gets access to their own mentoring team. Before you bounce, consider if there are opportunities to develop and still be yourself that you’re missing.
But say you’re not at one of those enlightened companies, or you’re immersed in a culture that expects you to become a clone of the folks upstairs.
You have two choices:
- Stay where you are and change the rules of the game.
- Leave and try your luck somewhere else.
The second choice is easier in some ways, so we’ll leave it for another column. For now, let’s assume you aim to stay in your current gig. This is the time to figure out your “Kobayashi Maru Score,” or KMS.
Hardcore Star Trek fans are nodding vigorously, while non-Trekkers are saying, “What the huh?” We’ll explain. In the Star Trek universe, the Kobayashi Maru test was given to young officers to assess how they dealt with a no-win situation: a crippled starship, the Kobayashi Maru, that could not be saved. But Captain James T. Kirk, ever the clever and independent thinker, changed the rules of the game by reprogramming the computer before his test so it was possible to save the ship.
In the context of your development as a young leader, the Kobayashi Maru Score has two parts:
- How willing you are to change the rules of the game—to buck your organizational culture and the expectations of superiors—in order to be your authentic self and further your own ideas of what makes a great leader.
- How receptive your organization is likely to be to someone who chooses to go that path.
To stay where you are and pursue your own course of original, iconoclastic leadership, you need both Kobayashi Maru Scores to line up. Not only do you have to be willing to defy the norms of your organization’s leadership development process, but the men and women running the show have to be willing to let you do it.
If your KMS and that of your company are both high, you’re in good shape. But suppose your KMS is an 8 on a 1-10 scale, while your organization’s is a 3? When you tell your superiors, “I’d like to opt out of the usual development curriculum, because I have some ideas of my own,” you’re more likely to be seen as insubordinate than imaginative. Can you take charge of your professional growth even if you’re in an organization that insists on conformity? Is that a threadable needle?
It is, if you approach the challenge with finesse and patience. When we opened Motto in South Carolina, we needed both. We were two young, edgy women barging into an advertising and marketing environment dominated by conservative, middle-aged white men. We knew we’d be unwelcome. If we became a threat, we figured we’d be sabotaged, and often times were. But we’ve always had a vision.
We couldn’t tout our maverick ideas too enthusiastically, or we’d scare off clients. Instead, we took control of how others saw us—told our story before others could do it for us. Inexperienced, wild-eyed young girls? No. We were a breath of fresh air in a heat dome of stale ideas. When we got clients, we relied on our skills and talent and let the results speak for themselves. If your KMS is high, you’ve got what it takes to change the rules of the same while staying with the organization where you’ve already made progress.
Here’s how to do it:
Don’t ask permission
Would Captain Kirk ask permission? Of course not. He’d act. Don’t give leadership, or anyone, really, a heads-up that you’re planning to swim against the culture or professional development curriculum. It’s more effective to bend the rules, get results, and apologize for any toes you may have stepped on.
Take charge of your image and story
You already have a personal brand within your organization. It’s the combination of what others say about you, your background, your personality, and your performance. Take that identity from accidental to intentional. What do you want people saying about you? How do you want your superiors to view you? From your social media feeds, to your appearance, to the challenges you take on, everything shapes your image and story. Start planting the seeds of that new personal brand every day, starting now.
Find the cracks and crawl spaces where the rules are bendable
Some aspects of a corporate culture are set in stone, whether it be training requirements, CRM protocols or what have you. No sense pushing there. Instead, look for the areas where the rules are unclear or even nonexistent, areas that jibe with your skills and interests. Perhaps your company has a history of non-designers presenting “crazy” design ideas. Maybe its sales “book” is less a book and more some accepted norms that everybody follows . . . until they don’t. Go digging.
Get adopted by a few renegade gurus
Daniel had Mr. Miyagi. Luke had Yoda. Everybody needs mentors who think outside the box. Look for people whose eyes light up at the mention of dangerous ideas or who seem quick to contradict accepted wisdom. Invite them to lunch. Pick their brains. Over time, you can build a brain trust of gurus who will help you navigate your path.
Take advantage of the existing program to hone needed skills
Hey, if the company is going to pay your way to develop next-level chops in IT, communication, conflict resolution, finance, whatever . . . let them. The more valuable you are, the more leeway you’ll have.
Look for the unopened door
What made Kirk’s Kobayashi Maru gambit work was that no one had ever tried it before. Even in a conservative organization, the quickest way to rise and blaze your own trail is to do something of value no one else has seen or been able to do before. Where’s the unmet need in your organization? Where’s the opportunity nobody seems to see? What’s the challenge no one else appears willing to take on? That’s your ticket.
Build a tribe of loyalists
Leaders today have to be retention magnets. If you can keep talented subordinates from leaving the company, you become more valuable. So find the people who “get” you, even if they don’t have a skill set that’s immediately useful. Connect with them. Share your story. Be vulnerable. Help them achieve their goals. You’ll wind up with a tribe that’s got your back.
Push quietly against the status quo
Rebellions start small for a reason. You want to log a few wins, increasing your support and credibility, before you announce to the bigwigs that you’re opting out of their program. So don’t seek headlines. Find an area where you can explore a new challenge or solve an intractable problem, and just do it. Work late. Work weekends. Keep it to yourself. When you have results to show, let your bosses know what you’ve been up to. Also, at that point, remember our advice about apologizing and not asking permission.
Results trump everything
The point of all these previous tidbits is to prep you for showing off what you’ve accomplished. Sure, you’ve bent some rules, but look at this new product prototype! Check out those sales numbers in that previously untapped market! When you show tangible results, it’s a lot easier for your superiors to cut you additional slack—and even give you a pat on the back—when you’ve gone out of your way not to step on toes or thumb your nose at them.
Sunny Bonnell and Ashleigh Hansberger are founders of Motto and the authors of Rare Breed: A Guide to Success for the Defiant, Dangerous, and Different.
Recognize your brand’s excellence by applying to this year’s Brands That Matter Awards before the early-rate deadline, May 3.
