Do you think Leadership and Brilliance Are the Same?

2015-07-13T11:46:34-04:00

Found this interesting article this morning on LinkedIn that I wanted to share with the RP Membership.

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Leadership and Brilliance Are Not the Same!
by Sramana Mitra, Influencer
Founder at One Million by One Million (1M/1M)

In this series, professionals explain how to lead in times of turmoil or growth. Read the posts, then write your own (use #HowILead in the body of your post).

When LinkedIn suggested "How I Lead" as the topic for this month’s Influencer series, I had to pause to consider how my thinking has evolved on the subject. How did I lead earlier in my career? How do I lead today? What has changed? What has remained constant? How do I synthesize what has worked particularly well?

I have founded and run four companies since 1994. In each case, I had a mission for value creation that was big, bold, important, clear, and I always made sure the mission was communicated to everyone on my team and to the external world with utmost authenticity.

When I started DAIS in 1994, my mission was to jumpstart a technology industry in Calcutta, using my MIT Computer Science background to plug that my birthplace into the global startup eco-system. My team of ~50 understood that mission well. I also got the media to root for us, inspiring them with that vision. This helped us tremendously in recruiting talent at a time when "startup" and "Calcutta" were incongruous concepts.

Three years later, in 1997, with more experience and perspective, I envisioned Intarka, a product company that would be built out of India with deep ties into Silicon Valley, drawing from the Valley’s Venture Capital industry. This was a time when Indians were primarily body shopping, and the now world-famous Indian IT Services industry was just gathering early momentum. "Product" was far from anybody’s mind. My team, however, got inspired by this bold, futuristic vision, and helped me deliver a beta product in nine months. The technology had core IP (Artificial Intelligence, again, way before its time), and I did raise venture capital in Silicon Valley from NEA. The story didn’t end well, because we made a hiring error in bringing an incompetent CEO on board, and he fired me.

In 1999, I envisioned Uuma, one of the first-ever personalized online fashion brands focused on busy professional women. I was, once again, way before my time. However, the clarity of the mission was unquestionable. I had no difficulty recruiting high-quality team members, including Bruce Baas whom I hired out of Bergdorf Goodman as our VP of Merchandising. And once again, because of the clarity and boldness of our vision, we were able to get tremendous media coverage in the fashion industry, close important deals with top designers, and eventually catch Ralph Lauren’s attention as an acquisition target.

Today, I run One Million by One Million (1M/1M), the first and only global, virtual accelerator in the world. The mission is clear and bold: to democratize entrepreneurship education and incubation. To help a million entrepreneurs reach a million dollars and beyond in annual revenue. To help build a trillion dollars in global GDP. We are, once again, somewhat ahead of our time. However, we have been able to communicate our vision with tremendous clarity and focus, and build momentum behind the concept. I am willing to give this endeavor the next 30 years to make it successful. That clarity, that focus, that commitment, that conviction is compelling. My team, our customers, our community, our partners – all find it inspiring.

So, to net it out, my humble advice to all those who are trying to learn leadership, is to achieve clarity in your own mind, first, on what you want to achieve. Clarity is the highest form of human intelligence. It is very hard to achieve. Human mind is a cluttered place. Sifting through that clutter and finding a core mission isn't an easy endeavor.

Once you have clarity in your own head, the next thing to learn is how to communicate that vision to your stakeholders. What is the narrative you build around the vision that helps you inspire people around you?

And finally, of course, execution. Not one day. Not one week. Not one month. You need to execute every day, week after week, month after month, year after year. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Persistence, resilience, staying power – ultimately, these strengths win over market challenges. I didn’t always have staying power in my career. Earlier on, I had visa challenges as an immigrant on H1B. This put me in a corner when I got fired from Intarka. I could not control that externality. I could not fight back. Over time, however, I have acquired staying power, and today, I am able to stand before you and say that I will give my vision for 1M/1M 30 years of my life.

One of my great weaknesses, as you may have noticed in reading this article, is timing. I am generally ahead of my time. I am aware of this weakness. This is why, for my work to achieve its full actualization, staying power is super important. To develop and educate the market and tackle the timing issue, I need to give my vision a chance over a longer horizon. My choice not to take venture capital is an important one in acquiring this longer runway.

At the end of the day, brilliance will only get you so far. Leadership and brilliance are not the same. Leadership requires the willingness to do mundane things, paying attention to details that many brilliant people would consider beneath them.

My interest is in fully seeing my vision through to fruition, however long it takes. I conceptualize with clarity and boldness, I communicate with authenticity, and I execute with focus.

It works, more or less.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 13 at 2015 11:48 AM

2015-07-13T11:48:28-04:00

No. Leadership, to me, is a constant. Whereas brilliance can be a one-time thing. Can leadership be brilliant? Yes. Can someone outside of leadership by brilliant? Yes.

Response by SSG Izzy Abbass made Jul 13 at 2015 11:49 AM

2015-07-13T11:49:34-04:00

I don't know if every great leader was brilliant - the real trick is for a great leader to surround themselves with brilliant people and seek the best advice. A good leader listens to options and weighs their input to make an informed leadership decision

Response by SFC Stephen King made Jul 13 at 2015 11:52 AM

2015-07-13T11:52:51-04:00

No

According to Dr. Lou Holtz

Leadership: “When you’re in education, you have to be a leader. Fr. Ted Hesburgh said when he hired me here at Notre Dame, ‘I can name you the head football coach at Notre Dame. I’m going to announce it to the world that you’re the head coach, but what I can’t announce to the world is you’re the leader.’

When in the Military I look at this the sameway. It is up to you to become an individual who is in charge you must choose how and when to lead thereby developing your own brilliance.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Jul 13 at 2015 12:53 PM

2015-07-13T12:53:45-04:00

My eldest brother is brilliant. He's the guy that 12-16 years in advance figures out what the Mars launch package will be, how much each experiment will weigh being built by technology that isn't there yet. He has to do this because everything is calculated against lift. So when the bean bag hit, his original calculations on the rover were within 3 ounces. He's a Life Master at Bridge and ranks high in Chess. That said, he has zero leadership and has little relational skills. He'd give you the shirt off his back, but is the type you'd ignore. So leadership and brilliance are two very separate things things but can indeed reinforce each other. Brilliance can be a problem when trying to lead. People get jealous of the smartest guy/gal in the room. So leadership needs to accommodate that potential.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 13 at 2015 2:40 PM

2015-07-13T14:40:08-04:00

I agree with SSG Izzy Abbass as well as SFC Stephen King. We hope to have a brilliant leader but they don't have to go together. There's two major types of leaders there's the leader who everyone follows because they want to and because they have respect for them and then there's the leader that is merely the leader because they have been appointed to the position of leader. I feel that we tend to see most of our brilliant leaders from the first category.

Response by CW4 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 13 at 2015 4:19 PM

2015-07-13T16:19:43-04:00

No I don't. Being brilliant typically means that you think differently than others and this makes you more intelligent than most. Being brilliant doesn't always translate into being a Leader. I know some extremely intelligent Officers, Warrant Officers and NCO's who can't lead a squad of one. Being an effective leader encompasses so much more than superior intelligence. A leader needs a delicate balance of book smarts, street smarts, empathy, compassion, spiritual and physical fitness, composure, courage, integrity and the willingness to accept possible failure.

Response by SSG Mike Angelo made Jul 13 at 2015 11:09 PM

2015-07-13T23:09:34-04:00

My thought about this question is based on dependency theory...
Leadership and Brilliance is about perception.

Leadership in the military is that art of influence over others behavior to accomplish something. Brilliance can be an individual or group of people behaving in an exceptional manner.

Leadership can celebrate brilliant actions while brilliant behavior is dependent on the leadership style, such as empowering such brilliant behavior.

Brilliant leadership is celebrated when some action or someone becomes legend. Or some legends begin with the brilliant idea of someone's selfless act of valor. In our American culture, we name buildings and streets after these folks who while living acted brilliantly.

It depends on how one looks at it hence, perception.

Response by SGT Mark Rhodes made Jul 17 at 2015 12:03 PM

2015-07-17T12:03:24-04:00

I'm not sure they are the same but the greatest leaders all seemed to be very brilliant and if you surround yourself with a lot of smart people and can influence them that makes you a pretty brilliant leader.

Response by SPC Andrew Griffin made Jul 17 at 2015 12:09 PM

2015-07-17T12:09:16-04:00

Not necessarily. Oftentimes, brilliance comes from those who play the background. They influence the SUCCESS of the mission. But they may not have what it takes for the Implementation of something. Leaders are measured by their Take Charge Attitude. How strong their Influence. Lastly, how well they set the example.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 24 at 2016 8:22 PM

2016-02-24T20:22:11-05:00

COL Mikel J. Burroughs No I do not think they are the same thing. A leader can be brilliant but not all brilliant people are leaders. Many brilliant people don't have the social skills necessary to make them approachable as leaders. Leadership requires that you are able to work well with others while brilliance does not.

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Feb 24 at 2016 8:49 PM

2016-02-24T20:49:18-05:00

No leadership is distinct from brilliance no matter how you measure it COL Mikel J. Burroughs. My first thought in terms of brilliance was in the measure that jewelers use to rate diamonds and other jewels. The most brilliant jewel is not necessarily the most valuable similarly the most brilliant military personnel are not necessarily the most gifted leaders. In fact brilliance frequently is a distraction from leadership.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Feb 25 at 2016 11:38 AM

2016-02-25T11:38:57-05:00

The world is full of brilliant people who are not leaders.

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Feb 25 at 2016 11:49 AM

2016-02-25T11:49:06-05:00

Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter were the two smartest men to occupy the White House in my lifetime and both were terribly flawed, failed leaders. George Bush and Barack Obama the two dumbest, also terribly flawed and failed leaders. I'd say that just about sums up my opinion.

Response by SSG Leonard J W. made Feb 25 at 2016 4:14 PM

2016-02-25T16:14:32-05:00

COL Mikel J. Burroughs, I would say that they are not the same, but they couple very well. A brilliant person tends to make a good leader, but a good leader is not required to be brilliant. Good leaders serve and take care of their subordinates. Brilliant people innovate and improve systems. The two definitely couple well, but they are absolutely not the same.

Response by SPC Robert Smart made Mar 3 at 2016 10:26 AM

2016-03-03T10:26:46-05:00

No they are not the same.
Any one can have moments of brilliance but that does not make them a leader.
A leader can also be dull and unispiring but is still in a leadership position.
Being a brilliant leader is somewhat harder to do. While we have outstanding leaders and brilliant leaders. It is very few who combine these two. To me just because you are a good leader does not make you brilliant.

Response by LCpl Cody Collins made Mar 3 at 2016 10:35 AM

2016-03-03T10:35:12-05:00

Most Leaders were not Brilliant, smart maybe but not brilliant. And a really good leader will have one person on his team, that will always disagree with his decision. Weather he or she verbally voices that or not.
Even Jesus Christ knew that Judas Iscariot was a traitor from the beginning, yet Christ chose him to be part of the original 12 Apostle's . Judas didn't always agree on a lot of what Christ did. But he could not deny the results of Jesus Christ works.
Today's leader need that one decanting voice, to make that leader take a second look before making that final decision. Because once that Arrow leaves the Bow, it cannot be corrected. A good leader is swift to hear and slow to speak.

Response by 1stSgt Eugene Harless made Mar 11 at 2016 3:33 PM

2016-03-11T15:33:25-05:00

I've met some very smart people who could stand and give you a 4 hour class on why it was raining, but did't have the fucking common sense to walk in from out of it. Same with leaders. Very smart but zero communicatioon and people skills.

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Jul 10 at 2016 6:16 PM

2016-07-10T18:16:58-04:00

You don't have to be brilliant to be a good leader, just have the wisdom to lead by setting a good example.

Response by SSG Chad Carruth made Jul 13 at 2016 9:45 AM

2016-07-13T09:45:55-04:00

No. I do not believe brilliance and leadership are the same. As several RP members have stated, many successful world leaders were not brilliant nor is it a requirement. More so, our current "leaders" ARE NO WHERE NEAR BRILLIANT! But that's a completely different discussion lol. To be a good leader in my opinion you have to know your goals and how you plan to get there. Then the leadership begins with you getting others to accomplish the mission at hand. As any leader knows each individual is different and reacts in different ways to your leadership. Your leadership should be fluid enough to motivate each team member in different ways as needed. Some need more direction than others and some will react differently to your direction. So being brilliant isn't a necessity to good leadership nor is it the same. Some of the most brilliant people need directions and cannot walk and chew bubble gum at the same time. COL Burroughs, I really enjoyed reading your comments, that motivated me! :)

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 13 at 2016 10:09 AM

2016-07-13T10:09:32-04:00

I do not think leadership and brilliance are the same. I have seen some very brilliant people who couldn't lead a horse to water.

Response by SSG Jeremy Sharp made Jul 14 at 2016 5:44 PM

2016-07-14T17:44:45-04:00

I am not sure that brilliance is necessarily a required quality of leadership. I think it is a requirement to recognize brilliance in others as a leader. Surrounding ones self with those that may be more visionary in the field and the ability to motivate subordinate leadership are definitely important traits. Seeking and filtering quality advice from subordinates, peers, and mentors will assist a true leader in developing a quality leadership team, set a positive direction and establish a winning trajectory for his company in future endeavors.

Response by SPC(P) Mark Newman made Jul 21 at 2016 11:05 AM

2016-07-21T11:05:50-04:00

Thanks for the question, Colonel.

Brilliance is a quality that COULD be part of leadership. I'm a follower. Maybe a leader if under another leader. But I'm a good follower with initiative and judgement and the ability to question those above me. I think that quality has let me see that leadership is kind of like good, strong steel. There has to be a blend.

You can't just have ONE quality that makes you a good leader. Strength tempered with caring, demanding but encouraging, willing to delegate AND accept responsibility, firmness with a willingness to bend.

I guess that's not easy. But none of it requires brilliance. Oh, NCOs and Officers? Please support or defend your followers when they are right, even against those more powerful than yourself. I can tell you that's appreciated and respected. The opposite is despised. You have to at least TRY to protect your people.

Mark N.

PS I know a civilian who is not brilliant. Ahem. At all. I won't name them since this is going on Facebook, too (to encourage more veterans to become Rally Point vets!). But this person's enthusiasm and vision pulled us all along ... if we were willing to hang on tight and pull as well. This person was demanding and sometimes overbearing, but the activity we participate in together benefited and so did this team captain's subordinates.