The Anti-Formula Formula for Leadership

By Katrina Gomez 

October 2010

When it comes to leadership, I've spent a lot of time trying to find the formula. In school I always loved equations because they worked out. We all started with a set of inputs, followed a set of steps and ended up at the same place--with the same answer. Unfortunately, leadership doesn't work that way.

1) Inputs: First of all, we don't all start with the same stuff. Yes, at the end of the day we are just a bag of bones and skin, but we come from different places and we come with different equipment. We are not standard sized widgets, and that is where all the fun and challenge begins. I've been to many leadership conferences and speeches and seen the books on X or Y number of steps that will help you reach your leadership potential, but, I've found, there is no real formula.

The one suggestion I've heard that resonates, is about finding your strengths, it's about finding who you are, and what you love to do. I already said you are not a widget, you are not a commodity. You are a high end, niche product with competitive competencies. Your job is to find your competitive advantages and act on them, and most likely your unique set of strengths will not be found in a book.

My advantages: I'm good at finding something in common with people--having traveled around the world from Cambodia to Ecuador and having lived in CA working as a Disney cast member and in Indiana getting my MBA and in NYC working as a consultant I can find something in common with the most random people, and this helps with small talk. I feel very comfortable in a room of strangers because I'm sure I have something I can talk about with anyone.

Next comes data crunching--it may not sound that exciting, but I love manipulating numbers to extract answers that tell me how to help the client. Finally, I'm curious--why are processes the way they are? Why is data the way it is? Why are people the way they are and what's the best way to get my point across to them? Those are my competitive advantages--put them together and you have Katrina.

2)  The formula: The strategic consulting firms are always boasting about how they tailor their insights--and there is good reason for this--no two companies are the same, and the strategies for two different companies are not the same. So why would the strategies and personal implementation plans to leadership be the same? The name of the game is, "Exploit what you got and minimize what you ain't got."