8 Moves of Leadership that are Rarely Spoken About

Note: If you haven't seen the movie "National Treasure" and don't want it spoiled for you, don't read this article. Part of success in life is the ability to lead. We all come across articles on leadership that list the "top 5" or the "most important" qualities that go into making one a leader. This article is about something a little different. :) Below is a list of 8 rarely spoken of moves of leadership. A trait is something that is part of you. A move is something that you do - consciously or not. How many of these moves do you regularly make? - Be alert to new potentials. "Reality" is not absolute. - Accept inspiration from wherever it comes; even your opponents. - Learn something new every day; promote in new ways every day. - Search for and find answers in subtle clues. - Improvise if no existing solutions are available. No excuses. - Make at least one person you care about happy. - Offer help, even if there's no apparent advantage to you. - Never let negativity be your last word on the subject. Now - Here is an example from the movies. Consider the movie "National Treasure" starring Nicholas Cage. If you haven't seen it, you should. Let's look at Benjamin Franklin Gates (Cage) in light of the above (Don't worry. Not much, if anything about the movie plot will be given away to people who haven't yet seen it.) - Be alert to new potentials. Gates was nothing if not alert in this movie. For example, he saw a weakness to the Government's procedures to protect the Declaration of Independence and saw through the so-called "reality" that "stealing" it couldn't be done. The result? A truly entertaining movie. - Accept inspiration from wherever it comes; even your opponents. In a way, this was the basis for the movie. His foil told Gates that he was going to steal the Declaration, and because of it, he and his former partner became opponents. But to stop him, Gates found himself inspired to do the very same thing - "steal" the Declaration, though for a noble reason and with a socially positive outcome. - Learn something new every day; promote in new ways every day. While most of the movie was about "learning something new," and there was little about "promoting," Gates did this, too. However, he learned that his soon-to be romantic interest Abigail Chase collected old coins and was missing one in a collection. When he warned her that the Declaration was about to be stolen, he accurately told her what she knew - that she was missing just one piece that would complete the set. Soon after, she received a gift from him - the very coin she was missing. This one act of generosity (an often unrecognized form of promotion) started the basis for the two of them to collaborate in the rest of the movie. - Search for and find answers in subtle clues. Again - this entire movie showcased Gates' nearly Sherlock Holmsian ability to see what others miss, and more importantly to see the significance of the clues. For instance, when Gates found Charlotte, he also found a clue - a highly stylized smoker's pipe. Much later in the movie, Gates realized from the visual appearance of the pipe that it matched with another clue, a keyhole - thereby leading to the next step in the plot. - Improvise if no existing solutions are available. No excuses. Gates successfully steals the Declaration. While making the getaway, a store clerk challenges him and he has to pay for a copy of the document - seemingly bad break in the execution of the plan. Not only does Gates finesse the situation, but it helps him shortly after when his foil grabs the copy instead of the original. - Make at least one person you care about happy. Gates did this with panache. Gates made a gift not only to increase his cache of credibility, but also make the giftee happy in a truly unique way. - Offer help - even if there's no apparent advantage to you. Gates has trouble with the law (needless to say) in this movie. Nevertheless, he helps the FBI recover the document from the bad guys, even though he knows he's going to go to jail for stealing it in the first place. The results are surprisingly enjoyable at the end of the movie. - Never let negativity be your last word on the subject. In some ways Gates reminds us of a character in another movie: Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Arc. Whatever the negativity - no matter what the obstacles, he looked for and generally found ways to rise above it. So now you have 8 "rarely spoken of moves" that go into the creation of leadership.