I can’t get the devastating war in Ukraine out of my mind.
Why didn’t I feel the same for Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, or the numerous other armed conflicts in the past few years?
Maybe it’s because I used to spend time in Kiyv in the early 2010’s. In short, I learned to appreciate and respect Ukraine’s rich history as a strong nation, its hospitality – and the excellent skills of its software developers.
Or maybe it is because this war highlights what differentiates great leaders from others – their traits, who they are, and who they’re not.
More than ever, times of war and conflicts are testing leaders’ ability to gain trust and respect for others to follow them.
But how can they do it?
To illustrate it, I decided to dust off a classic that greatly influenced me: The Art of War by Sun Tzu.
It’s timeless.
The book brilliantly covers the key traits that characterize leadership: Intelligence, Credibility, Humaneness, Courage, and Discipline.
These are the five absolute requirements for leaders to fulfill their role: rally support for and implement a strategy.
One can quickly assess how anyone does on these five attributes.
It doesn’t have to be limited to Zelenskyy or Putin. You too can test how you fare.
Just answer honestly and objectively the following ten questions. Even better, if you want to minimize bias, ask your team and peers.
Ask them to gauge where you stand for each question on a scale of 1 to 10 points – 1 being very poor and 10 being excellent:
Intelligence or contextual awareness
1 – How well do you understand the core needs and challenges surrounding you and your business?
2 – How well do you know where your organization stands vs. its market and competitors?
3 – How good are you at staying humble and deeply curious?
Credibility
4 – How well are you adapting your competence to your organization’s unique situations?
Humaneness
5 – How good are you at demonstrating respect for those you interact with? Don’t limit this to your team. Think of peers and even competitors- adversaries.
Courage
6 – How much confidence and decisiveness are you projecting in the face of adversity and challenges?
7 – How well are you mobilizing teams despite mounting pressure in times of changes and uncertainty?
Discipline
8 – How strongly are you preparing your teams to address the unknown and uncertainties the events will throw at them?
9 – How well are you ensuring you are adequately rewarding your best players?
10 – How clearly are you articulating the consequences of poor performance?
Now it’s time to add things up. Remember, each question should have a score between 1 and 10 points!
Your total is above 80 points
I have great news for you. You are leading fully and genuinely, and you are perceived as such. Keep adapting, and you should be ready for any situation.
You score between 50 and 80 points
It still might be ok. Especially if you still have higher scores on humaneness and courage. You can always learn how to build contextual intelligence and discipline.
You score low on humaneness and courage or have less than 50 points overall
It’s time for you to seriously reconsider your leadership or any role leading to a positive contribution. If you’re serious about it, you’ll need to double down on your efforts to improve yourself.
No matter what your score is, remember that any conflict or tension will exacerbate the need for leaders to master the five attributes.
Keep adapting and growing, and if you ever come to a point where you feel stuck, you can reach out to The Product Sherpa. I’ll be glad to help you double-click and improve your leadership skills.