7 Ways to be Pigheaded without being a Jackass
Success requires stubbornness. Think Winston Churchill or Gandhi.
Be pigheaded about something magnificent.
It can’t be done:
Successful leaders find energy in challenge and difficulty. Watch what happens when you tell a leader it can’t be done.
When things get hard, gritty leaders try harder.
But persistence has a dark side.
7 signs you might be a jackass:
- You never change your mind. Proving others wrong is near obsession.
- The world is filled with jerks and idiots.
- Talking loud and long is normal.
- You feel powerful when you hold people’s feet to the fire.
- The reason people don’t like you is you’re so awesome.
- You forget the big picture. Hacking in the weeds makes you frustrated and narrow.
- Teammates are competitors, not collaborators.
A persistent jackass has self-defeating stubbornness, but pushovers don’t succeed.
7 ways to be pigheaded without being a jackass:
Remarkable success requires focused persistence.
#1. Practice persistence with openness.
- How are your “not talking” skills?
- When are you “going with”? Or, are you always pushing against?
- Who speaks into your life on a regular basis?
- What unexpected people are you including?
#2. Dig in for long-term goals. Learn and adapt along the way.
#3. Expect more from yourself than you expect from others. One seduction of leadership is personal exemption.
#4. Enjoy the sparks of diversity.
#5. Evaluate progress. Are you learning and moving forward or spinning your wheels?
#6. Admit you’re wrong. Ego is always right. Humility learns and adapts.
#7. Be “for” more than “against”.
This post is inspired by my conversation with Andre’ Borschberg, co-founder of the Solar Impulse Project.
Andre’ on hiring a boat company to make parts for an airplane (3:10):
What makes persistence a bad thing?
How might leaders be stubborn without being jackasses?
Great post. Learning how to be both persistent and flexible is key. I loved the “not talking” skills question. It’s a good reminder. Blindly driving forward without taking the time to reflect, listen and correct when needed (that means owning up to mistakes) can end up taking you and the team down roads you don’t want to go.
Thanks Mim. Great reminder that persistence can take teams down “roads you don’t want to go.”
I think this includes both destination and relational roads. Persistence has many relational implications. Cheers
Dan, great post! You’re talking about the difference between Persistent and Persecuting and the value of balancing Openness/Vulnerability so that we don’t end up with tunnel-vision about our goals and personal agendas.
Thanks Nate. Vulnerability is a great term to add to this conversation. Jackasses aren’t vulnerable. 🙂
Leaders ruffle feathers, because they challenge — but there must be value behind what’s being challenged, otherwise its noise, and we lose our voice.
I think of the Biblical — eloquence without care, is noise (1 Cor. 13)
Thanks for a great thought-starter today.
Thanks Ken. Ruffling feathers is a kind way to put it. Sometimes people get downright angry.
If we aren’t careful, we can be contrarian rather than innovative. One is against. The other is for. Cheers
Great post Dan — be for more than against, love it!!
Thanks Mark. Personally, I find being against easier. You can often see the “against” posture in politics. I think it creates lots of emotion. Cheers
Great leaders have passion in their beliefs , so they are often very persistent in pursuing their passion. To me to be pigheaded means that you are so sold on your idea, that it is THE best, that it has no room to be adapted or changed, it has to be YOUR way.If someone has an idea that can fit into your big picture and in fact enhance your belief, a true leader will acknowledge that. I think to sum it up pigheadedness means no humility or willingness to share.
Thanks Kari. Humility answers so many leadership problems. Powerful. Cheers.
What a fun title for the post! “Humility learns and adapts.” – yes! Being persistent is a pathway you can choose to reach an end goal, but persistence can be touched by refinement, can be informed on new information, in order to more efficiently and effectively reach that goal!
Thanks Three. Love the word “refinement”. You can’t refine a closed mind. Cheers
Step 1: Admit that I am a jackass – at least some of the time. Some of your “7 Signs…” got me feeling pretty uncomfortable. Regarding No. 2, I hope to develop a new response, “I hadn’t thought of that option.”
Thanks Ken. The first thing that popped off the page was the pronoun “I”. You might have felt uncomfortable with some of the signs of jackassery, but there’s too much truth in the first sentence of your comment.
Regarding #2: We can’t underestimate the importance and usefulness of planned responses that reflect heartfelt intentions. Cheers
Great post! Love #3 “Expect more from yourself than you expect from others. One seduction of leadership is personal exemption.” That’s indeed a seduction that is easy to fall into. Thanks for shining light on it here.
Wishing some of our present and potential political leaders would get this. (But don’t worry, I’m pointing my finger at myself first.) Huge difference between inflated ego and legitimate confidence.
Thanks Dawn. I think ego does more comparing with others. “I’m better than…” Confidence seems to be an accurate assessment of ourselves. Best