Steal Like an Artist

Think of a leader that has made the biggest impact on you. 

Who comes to mind first? 

Perhaps they are your favorite boss or closest family member, an activist, politician, entrepreneur, athlete, cultural icon, etc. You can rehearse their sage advice or recall the questions they’ve asked you - maybe you even consciously or subconsciously imitate their work, communication style, ethics, brand, or habits. 

After all, most folks believe that imitation is one of the sincerest forms of flattery and the tell-tale sign of a great leader is when they influence others – be it just you or millions.

While some people appear to be “natural leaders” or “Type A” or, as Dale Carnegie would say, can easily “win friends and influence people,” leadership doesn’t come as naturally to everyone.  

Plus, thanks to imposter syndrome, the best of the best (the leaders of leaders) who seemingly were born to do what they do still will doubt their leadership abilities (even if they are magnificent in reality).

So, at one point along our journeys, careers, and lives, especially when we think about those who have made an impact on us, we’ve asked ourselves, “how can I become a great leader, too?” 

If you ask Brené Brown, for example, she’ll tell you from her book “Dare to Lead” that great leaders are courageous and lean into vulnerability.  

Carl Eschenbach, Co-CEO of Workday, mentions in a recent Grit podcast episode that “there is nothing more dangerous than yesterday’s success” - alluding that the best leaders never go backwards.
 
Robert K. Greenleaf in “Servant Leadership” posits that the most impactful leaders are actually the ones most servant to their constituents.  

The problem is, however, if you search on Amazon.com for “Leadership” books, you’ll get 60k+ more opinions on what defines a great leader and how to become one.
 
So, who do you listen to and where do you begin?

Start with reading “Steal Like an Artist” by Austin Kleon, a New York Times Bestseller written in 2012 handed out and passed along by creatives and thinkers around the world.

Kleon argues that “a good artist understands that nothing comes from nowhere. All creative work builds on what came before. Nothing is completely original.”  

He then expands that, like your familial genealogy, we also have a genealogy of ideas. Who and what you surround yourself with and where and when will dictate who you become. In other words, “you are the sum of your influences.” 

From there, Kleon actually disagrees with me: that imitation actually is not flattery. “At some point, you’ll have to move from imitating your heroes to emulating them.” In other words, taking what you’ve learned and making it your own.

For famous authors, like Brené Brown and Robert K. Greenleaf, writing their books, in Kleon’s view, is a function of them stealing, reimagining, honoring, and transforming ideas they have taken from the world around them. Late basketball legend Kobe Bryant, an example used by Kleon, patterned much of his game off of Michael Jordan, but also Elgin Baylor. Inevitably, though, Kobe ended up being uniquely Kobe.

I’m sure Carl Eschenbach would also agree that his philosophy of never going backwards was the ingot of lessons and habits he melted together and poured together over the years.  

The examples go on and on.

So, to answer our question, “how do I become a great leader, too?”, start by stealing (listening) from your environment and of those whose opinions and actions you welcome into your world.

In other words, be the leader you’d want to lead you, an amalgam of the best versions of the leaders you admire whose messages you’ve amplified and translated into your own voice. 

Funnily enough, if you steal Kleon’s words from earlier and relate them to leadership, you get the following: 

...a good leader understands that nothing comes from nowhere. All leadership builds on what came before. Leadership is never completely original... 

Now go Steal Like a Leader and become great.