On Leading with Greatness

In some ways, I feel my writing is spinning in place as I age in place, so I’ve decided to take a few months off—at least—as I consider my next move and enjoy my summer. Summertime is the perfect time to take time. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimsalvucci.substack.com

The best artists, like the best leaders, never treat their work as finished. They master their craft, then break it, reworking, searching, risking public failure rather than coasting on what already worked. Let's call that restlessness unsettlement. It's a value leaders and artists share more deeply than any other. This episode makes the case for it: not repetition, not persistence for its own sake, but the discipline to keep moving toward something not just different but better and the nerve to smash your own best work when there's somewhere else to go. Bob Dylan, John Coltrane, and Henry Threadgill supply the evidence. The lesson isn't "lead like an artist. The stakes and the processes are worlds apart. It's narrower and harder: be self-aware but not self-satisfied, disciplined in a way that's true to yourself, and willing to build, break, and build anew. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimsalvucci.substack.com

So much information, and so little time to review it, which is to say nothing of comprehending and intelligently responding to it. We drift in a world awash in information, gulping it down as quickly as possible in hopes we don’t drown. Yet, “leaders are readers,” or so they say. Leaders gain knowledge and a degree of understanding by guzzling information. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimsalvucci.substack.com

What does a person’s behavior suggest about their level of competence? The most competent among us aren’t hyper-confident and are often riven with self-doubt, which you might not realize if you aren’t close to them or you actually are them. I’m not talking about imposter syndrome. The self-doubt a competent leader experiences is an entirely healthy and even necessary element of their competence. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimsalvucci.substack.com

Most leadership advice suggests that empathy is a key component to effective leadership, and I won’t disagree. Leaders empathize to improve their ability to communicate and to compromise. But… Empathy is not inherently good. Empathy can be a component of morality, but it’s not moral in itself. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimsalvucci.substack.com