{"id":94063,"date":"2023-03-03T14:05:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-03T18:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=94063"},"modified":"2023-03-06T11:28:06","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T15:28:06","slug":"disruptive-leader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/disruptive-leader\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Disruptive Leaders Are Crucial for Company Growth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is a disruptive leader? How can you build a revolutionary workplace?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contrary to how it sounds, disruptive leadership is actually a good thing in modern work environments. In The Buddha<\/a> and the Badass<\/em>, Vishen Lakhiani describes this type of leadership as one that allows people to grow, feel important and valued, develop friendships, and contribute to meaningful work<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue reading to learn how to become a disruptive leader that everyone will admire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Set Your Company\u2019s Values and Use Them to Attract the Right Team <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first step of being a disruptive leader is to define the company\u2019s values, which are based on your personal values<\/a>. You must do this because when your company has clearly defined values, applicants who have the same values and the ability to bring them to life will want to work for you<\/strong>. And when your company is composed of people with shared values, it\u2019s far more likely to succeed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Some disagree with Lakhiani\u2019s belief in the power of value statements. While corporate value statements may paint a pleasant picture of the company, often, the pressure to maximize profit wins out<\/a> over adherence to nice-sounding values like \u201cteamwork\u201d and \u201cempowerment.\u201d And it looks like employees are actually leaving<\/em> companies for this reason, not wanting to be part of a corporate system that exists only to maximize shareholder value. So even if a company truly means to act on its values, employees may be so disillusioned that they don\u2019t take that promise seriously and don\u2019t apply.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Define and share your values in two ways: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manifesto: <\/strong>Create a manifesto outlining what your company stands for and what values it has. Be aware that some people will dislike your manifesto, and that\u2019s OK. The main point<\/a> is that your manifesto takes a strong stance so that it attracts the people who do<\/em> share your values. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your Reason for Existing: <\/strong>In addition to a manifesto, communicate why<\/em> you exist. You must communicate this because your \u201cwhy\u201d is what candidates connect to emotionally, and emotions drive human decisions far more than logic does. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: With these two value declarations, Lakhiani is in a way trying to help you speak both to the minds and hearts of job applicants. A manifesto is akin to a thesis statement about your business<\/a>, and it aims to logically persuade someone that what you\u2019re doing is valuable. It thus makes sense that not every manifesto will appeal to the logic of every person. A reason for existing, on the other hand, is a deeper expression of core values<\/a> that are meant to resonate emotionally\u2014comparable to a story.)    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Define Bold, Forward-Thinking Goals<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To lead a disruptive company, you must develop big, bold goals for it<\/strong>, insists Lakhiani. Unfortunately, most people and leaders are conditioned to aspire to modest goals. But to accomplish something great, you must set audacious goals and constantly update them to be even<\/em> more audacious. If you don\u2019t, your company will languish in mediocrity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ironically, the bolder your goals are, Lakhiani argues, the easier they are to achieve. This is because when your goals are inspiring and audacious, people with the right skills and enthusiasm will be excited by your cause and want to join it. To have such big, bold goals, Lakhiani warns that you must not be too rational. Otherwise, you\u2019ll start hedging and reducing the scope of your goal to something more manageable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lakhiani provides two tips on attaining goals: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip 1<\/strong>: Always speak of your project 10 years down the road to indicate the goal you believe it will achieve in 10 years. Express this goal as if it were already a reality\u2014doing this makes it more likely to happen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip 2<\/strong>: Don\u2019t be afraid to fail at achieving your goal. If you\u2019re afraid of failing, you won\u2019t think expansively enough to create a bold vision. Lahkiani specifically recommends that 50% of your goals should have a 50% chance of failing. Within your company, you should also strive to set goals that succeed only 60 to 80% of the time. If you have a success rate higher than that, it means your goals aren\u2019t big enough. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foster In-Sync Thinking<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019ve hired people who believe in your goals<\/a> and values, disruptive leaders should then foster an environment where they can easily experience what Lakhiani calls brain coupling<\/a><\/em>: being totally mentally in sync on an idea or project<\/strong>. This improves the efficiency of your organization because people can make decisions faster, and it makes employees happier because they feel connected to and understood by co-workers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a leader, you can foster in-sync thinking by getting rid of hierarchical communication structures within the company. Let every employee approach any superior, no matter how senior they are. This allows ideas to travel freely between everyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lakhianai also recommends encouraging in-sync thinking using the OODA<\/em> model of decision-making<\/a>, created by John Boyd, an airforce military strategist. This decision-making model<\/a> emphasizes speed over accuracy and encourages team members to quickly make decisions without over-analyzing or fully weighing the pros and cons. Though this might allow for more bad <\/em>decisions, the team will make more net good <\/em>decisions (in its original use, OODA led air force pilots to fire more bullets overall. This meant a higher percentage of misses, but an even higher percentage of hits than when not using OODA). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In OODA, you don\u2019t wait for perfect information, but quickly forge ahead with the information you do <\/em>have to make a decision<\/a>. Once you\u2019ve made a decision, you restart the OODA process to determine if it led to a desirable outcome and change your approach if necessary. When an organization uses OODA, it gets more done faster, which allows the team to move forward in-sync as a whole. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

OODA stands for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n