Are You An Original Leader Or A Copycat Leader?

Last week, much of the business and technology world was abuzz over a US court’s landmark decision against Samsung that it had violated some of Apple’s software and design copyrights. While the decision is certainly far from final – with Samsung already announcing that they will appeal the decision – several observers are astutely pointing out the potential fallout Apple’s victory will have on the innovation process for any organization.

Specifically, how real innovation occurs not through capturing lightning in a bottle, but through copying existing works in order to understand how disparate elements can be reassembled to create a new work or product. A good example of this can be seen in looking at the story of how Picasso became a world-renowned painter.

Initially, Picasso followed the lead of his teachers in learning how to copy the styles of various Renaissance painters. Through this process, Picasso discovered what his limitations were and began to incorporate some of the avant-garde styles being used by painters in Barcelona in order to address these gaps. By combining his strengths and experiences painting in these two distinct art styles, Picasso went on to create the unique signature and look for which he’s now famous for.

While the act of copying others is certainly a critical step in the creation of new works, products, and services, there is one area where copying others does have a deleterious effect on the ability of organizations to compete and thrive in today’s global economy. And that is when leaders choose to copy what so-called successful leaders do.

Consider, for example, when the biography of Steve Jobs was released last year. Instead of treating it as a historical reference of who Steve Jobs really was – of what personal experiences and strengths ended up defining both who he was and why he chose to lead his organization the way he did – many treat it more like a recipe book on how to conjure up a similar effect within their organizations.

But does that mean we should stop reading about what other leaders did to achieve their success? Not at all. Indeed, as a student of history, I think there is plenty that we can learn from those who came before us or who underwent seemingly impossible challenges as understood from the lens of their time, culture, and personal experiences.

And therein lies the fundamental gap that we see in today’s leadership – one where we’ve replaced the action verb “learn” with “copy”. Essentially, we’ve shifted our focus from learning what the experiences of others might reveal about us, to merely copying or emulating what’s easiest for us to do in the hopes that we might accomplish what they did.

Sure, in the process of creation, copying is critical to the creative process, something the US court decision against Samsung – not to mention some of the recently proposed copyright laws – would have us believe otherwise.

However, in terms of leading your team and organization, copying others simply won’t cut it because it not only fails to take into consideration the needs and requirements of those you lead (e.g, will your team really benefit from working under an autocratic and at times abusive ruler like Steve Jobs?), but it also fails to tap into your strengths, passions, personal experiences and core values – elements which should inform how you approach serving those you lead.

Unlike a product or service where one can find success replicating the features and options found in amongst the top-tier product and service lines, leadership requires more than simply tracing the steps of those we regard as being the role models of leadership and success.

It requires that we bring some authenticity to the function by demonstrating how our core values inform our decisions and behaviours, instead of merely copying what we see or read others doing under the assumption that this must be what leadership looks like.

In their seminal work, “The Leadership Challenge”, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner point out:

If you can’t find your voice, you’ll end up with a vocabulary that belongs to someone else, mouthing words that were written by some speechwriter or mimicking the language of some other leader who’s nothing like you at all.

If the words you speak are not your words but someone else’s, you will not, in the long term, be able to be consistent in word and deed. You will not have the integrity to lead.”

In much the same way as we achieve success, we become the kind of leaders we are not from within a vacuum or through simply copying what works for others. Rather, it’s through a distillation of our own core values, experiences, and what we’ve learned along the way that allows us to find that balance between who we are and what those we serve require from us in order to be successful in their shared efforts.

That’s why, contrary to what we might believe, there are no born leaders. Instead, there are individuals who choose not to follow the tried-and-true path others have taken and instead, use the lessons they’ve learned and the experiences they’ve had to help them understand what kind of a leader those around them need them to be.

Of course, learning is only half of the process to successfully leading others. What those successful leaders that we all admire also do is teach those under their care how to be leaders in their own right as well.

As much as your leadership is perceived by your actions and the results achieved by your organization, it will also be judged by the legacy you create – of how you not only engaged, but empowered those you serve to tap into their own strengths and passions to become the kind of people who can help those around them to achieve the kind of success and fulfillment we all long for.

With the arrival of a new school year and with it a renewed focus on learning and growth, I encourage you not to simply copy what your competition is doing – at least in the field of leadership. But to instead discover what you can learn from them, what their histories can inform you about your own experiences, and ultimately how you can be not just a leader like them, but the kind of leader you were meant to be.