Chris Stevens changed the game not only for his company but for himself and others. He had an exciting perspective on the future, centred on how technology could enable new value for their customers. Once his business stakeholders were on board with his vision, he inspired his team to take on a stretch goal to deliver a major program of work that would take him and his team outside their comfort zone. And he ensured they delivered on all the little promises that added up to delivering on their large-scale commitment. The success they achieved made him more marketable to other businesses who were looking for a game-changing leader. It also inspired leaders around him to step up their own leadership and move on to bigger things. Chris was inspired to take a new direction in his career and set up his own, now thriving business, Digital Frontier Partners.
Chris had made a conscious transition from his earlier career as a technical specialist to becoming a leader through building his ability to influence others around him. That meant reinventing his problem-solving superpower to address the strategic challenges his organisation faced. If he was to deliver on his commitment to change the game for the business, he had to be skilled at solving the problem of getting other people to step up their leadership.
In Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, David Epstein presents a counter-intuitive argument on the myth that the more you specialise and practise, the better you become. He believes generalists are primed to excel: ‘They are more creative, more agile and able to make connections that their more specialised peers can’t see.’ Studies of athletes, artists and musicians help make his case.
Chris’s willingness to move from his area of technical specialty by building his leadership influence set him up to change the game and create a new future for himself and others.
These leadership insights from Chris Stevens are outlined in more detail in the new book, which Dean Phelan and I co-authored – The Gentle Art of Leadership. The perspectives we gathered from our interviews with 50+ leaders from around the globe and the original research we drew on, form the basis of the book.
🙋♀️ What is a problem the market faces that you could help solve? 🙋
PS: Join the waiting list for the next Personality and Behaving Transactionally Program and develop your leadership influence.
Best regards, Brian