7 Qualities of Impeccable Leadership
Leadership begins with the individual but is not the individual. Leadership is the quality of active participation to Life, ‘Impeccably’, through all the multitudes of relationships we have — finance, family, friends, career, professionalism, colleagues, nature, spirit, food, resources, self, and countless more.
Now, this sounds like high ordeal because the etymology of the word ‘Impeccable’ comes from being ‘sin-less, or faultless, or flawless’. However, being an impeccable leader has nothing to do with being perfect but having the aspiration to reach an ideal where no one dares to set foot in. This begins by accepting the flaws and imperfections of being human. Impeccable Leaders are great Visionaries, beginning with an understanding of who and how they choose to be as an individual. They seek to be the best version of their true nature. They play the ‘Impossible, Infinite’ Game not as a place to get to but a place to start.
Let’s explore these qualities:
- Commitment to Serve Powerfully.
Impeccable leaders have one intention in mind, “How and Who can I serve today?” One perfect example to study such commitment is from the medical drama TV series ‘New Amsterdam’. The protagonist Max Goodwin displays such character of Impeccability with his famous catch phrase, “How can I help?” Leaders help their team and meet their needs so that the team in return, can help the leader run operations and executions of the collective vision. Despite such character of Impeccability, this character is not without flaws. Because of such resilience and profound dedication to serve powerfully not just his team, but his patients and the bigger vision of the hospital, his flaws are being protected and supported by his team members and his community.
Impeccable leaders take people to places where no one dares to set foot in. The single-focused commitment to such ideals takes people from impossibility to infinite possibilities. They are creators of opportunities rather than waiting for opportunities to land in their doorstep. They are not afraid to fail, be rejected, or be criticized. Such commitment overpowers any sense of doubt and inferiority complexes. Why? Because now it is not about the leaders, but the leadership of the shared vision that is bigger than the leaders themselves.
2. Great Leadership comes with Great Fellowship
Impeccable leaders are not just charismatic and magnetic, but also approachable and attentive to the people in the present moment. In ‘New Amsterdam’, you can see that Medical Director Dr. Max Goodwin did not just hole up in his office making the calls in the organization. Instead, he walks around the hospital attending to his doctors to hear out what they need in order for them to serve their patients powerfully. Taking radical approaches, the Medical Director makes controversial and questionable choices and actions with high risks. I thought this was only possible because he created a powerful trust and bond between him and his doctors which genuine respect is given and earn, to and from each other.
Great Leadership comes with Great Fellowship. Leadership is not possible if they are not a good follower. What are leaders following? The deeper underlying needs of his people. Leadership is also not possible if there is no fellowship in the team. This sense of fellowship is created from what Tyler Norton, the founder and chair of ASEA and the podcast host of The Corporate Soul, says, ‘Seeing people as people’. In the podcast, Tyler said that to promote influence on others we have to begin by seeing people as people rather as commodities. Returning to the first quality, by serving people powerfully, we create a fellowship and in return we create a highly functioning organization with high impact outcomes. There is a saying, “serve the people, and the people serves your business”, and “serve nature, and nature serves you.”
3. The Art of Self-Discipline
The word ‘discipline’ comes from the word ‘disciple’. Impeccable leaders are committed and dedicated to their learning process. They embrace the Beginner’s Mind and endorse the Growth Mindset in self and others. Self-discipline means learning from the self. As much as we can learn from books, podcasts, lectures, workshops, authorities and specialists for the field, there is a whole universe within us that we can learn from. Impeccable leaders not only learn the technical skills of his field, but also learn the soft skills such as self-care, compassion and empathy, deep listening, self-inquiry, and authentic relating. Impeccable leaders do not just serve the world and others powerfully, but also serve themselves and their personal development powerfully. They are dedicated to their personal transformation because they understand that powerful change begins with the Self.
4. Inspiring a Shared Vision
I have to reiterate here that Impeccable leaders are also visionaries. They take themselves and people around them to places where no one dares to set foot in. Holding a powerful vision and the ability to imagine such possibility is the beginning of actualization. All great inventions begin with many failed great ideas and one idea that was formed because of the failed great ideas. This is only possible when someone has a burning desire about the vision that had emerged from wihtin. A great example is the story of Henry Ford and his persistence to create the impossible as summarize in Napoleon Hill’s ‘Think Rich, Grow Rich’. Persistence is more than just being stubborn but the ability to have resilience and trust in the uncertainty.
Instead of the word persistence which can sound like there is a certain level of ‘no pain no gain’, I prefer steadfastness — the quality of being resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering. Impeccable leaders dive deep into the realm of uncertainty and continuously learn to find comfort there. The choice of living and creating such vision is not just a one time thing, but a choice that is made every single day, moment to moment.
5. “Your Great Vulnerability is Your Greatest Protection” — Rich Litvin
Impeccable leaders do not have all the answers but has the ability to create momentary insights for self and others. This means that impeccable leaders do not always have it all together, are very likely to make mistakes, and there will be moments when they are out of alignment from their best self. On the contrary to the meaning of impeccability, true impeccability is actually embracing that we are ordinarily human and are vulnerable to mistakes. In fact, impeccability embraces mistakes not as a failure but a feedback to discover and create greater awareness around what was not possible before. Rather than playing the blaming and shaming cards, impeccable leaders hold accountable not just his own imperfections but the imperfections of others with compassion. To open up emotionally and authentically which can feel very vulnerable, creates a deeper bond in the leader’s relationship to self and others. This give rise to an environment that is safe to be completely human which in return, is the greatest protection.
6. The Power of Humility
Humility builds powerful character in people. It ties in to all the previous qualities. By now, I am hoping you realize that these qualities of impeccable leadership are interchangeable and are interconnected.
Humility is thinking less of yourself, but thinking about yourself less.
— C.S. Lewis
Humility is neither over-inflating your sense of self or over-deflating your sense of self. There is a sense of equanimity to look into things with discernment that is as sharp as a diamond. It is not about what we think about the situation, circumstances or conditions, but rather what is the situation, circumstances or conditions are telling us. This means humility comes from a place of creating awareness rather than a place of judgment. Humility comes from a place of looking at the Truth rather than imparting wishful thinking about the situation. Impeccable leaders find empowerment in humility and lead with what is necessary rather than what is conditioned. ‘No choice’, ‘no time’, ‘no space’, ‘no money’, has never been in the options for impeccable leaders. They work around the vision rather than around the conditions. The power of humility helps us to ask the right questions to live into.
7. The Spiritual Warrior — Using, Direct, Managing and Storing Energy
The mystical and spiritual aspect to impeccable leadership has to do with understanding how energy works in the world. Impeccable leaders develops enough sensitivity to what drains them or energizes them. They are also sensitive to understand how energy is exchanged between themselves and the relationships around them. This means that impeccable leaders know how to use, direct, manage and store their energies. One coaching tool I learned from Rich Litvin which I enjoyed sharing with people is to do some ‘energy auditing’. This exercise helps to create awareness about what drains us and what energizes us. The point here is to declutter, let go, and surrender everything that drains us and cultivate more of things that energizes us.
What this looks like is draw a line down the middle separating into two columns with one labelled as Energy Draining and another as Energizing . To reflect deeper, I will then ask people to reflect this ‘energy audit’ in different life areas — personal, relationship, professional, livelihood, finance, community, mindset/thinking, spirituality.
Being an impeccable leader is all about becoming a spiritual warrior and learning to dance with the energies of the world. Ahimsa, which literally non-violence is what we need to practice. This means neither harming others nor ourselves. This begins with creating awareness around how we use, direct, manage and store our energies.
If you are looking to receive insights and clarity about impeccability and how you can begin your journey to practice impeccable leadership, send a message to me and let’s set up a conversation to discover an insight that could potentially change the way you look at yourself and your life forever.
I am a Human Potential Coach who supports purpose-driven entrepreneurs, creators, and healers who are really gifted at their work, but suffered from emotional and physical burnout to thrive holistically in their wellbeing and enjoying fulfilling personal and professional success.
I can be found on Instagram @chironyeng or Facebook @chironyengcoaching.
