Chapter 46

Be the part

Acting the part is about how you are, at least to the outside world. Being the part is about who you are. The best leaders not only act differently, they think differently. Continuing leadership research is showing that the way the best leaders think is consistent. There is a distinct pattern of success which we can all learn from.

At first this sounds daunting. If we have to change the way we think, that implies we have to change who we are. We may as well train a tiger to be vegetarian: we cannot change who we are. Fortunately, nothing so radical is required. We do not have to change who we are, we simply have to be the best of who we already are.

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