Nelson Mandela spent his life fighting to overthrow apartheid and bring democracy to South Africa, where all South Africans, regardless of their social status or color, would be allowed to vote.
He was imprisoned for 27 years. He endured hard labor, severe isolation and very basic living conditions. He had to overcome internal conflicts within his political movement, whose members had doubts about the best course of action for the overthrow of apartheid. He also needed to fight the racism and colonialism that had been formed for centuries But in the end he achieved his goal. Mandela was released from prison in 1990 and played a key role in the transition to democracy. In 1994, he became the first democratically elected president in South Africa’s history.
Whether it was his visionary belief in a democratic South Africa, his iron discipline to achieve his goal, or his empathy to connect with those who thought differently from him, Mandela is considered a great leader.
So you might think that in order to be a leader, or simply a person of value, it is necessary to be a great achiever. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
On Robben Island prison, prisoners were assigned daily chores. One of the most unpleasant was to clean their chamber pot with their own excrement. All the prisoners hated it. Once, one of Mandela’s companions, Daniels, fell ill for a short time. Without the strength to even get out of bed, he decided to postpone cleaning his chamber pot. Mandela cared for all his comrades. He knew his friend was unwell. Daniels recalls that Mandela came to his cell, asked how he was and then set about cleaning his comrade’s chamber pot on his own initiative. Daniels was amazed.
That is what leadership is about. It is not just about being the visible face of a historic political movement or achieving great feats. Small actions can make a big difference.
And that’s something anyone can learn.
You can be one of three ways
Chris Hadfield, a Canadian astronaut and current commander of the International Space Station, believes that everyone in a new environment can fall into one of three categories:
As -1: actively disruptive, someone who causes problems. As 0: their impact is neutral and does not tip the balance one way or the other. As +1: someone who actively adds value.
In the case of astronauts, you might think that being competent, intelligent and a problem solver is enough to be categorized as a +1. But being an astronaut also requires teamwork; the most important missions on the ISS always require a crew of astronauts. Those with an individualistic view may think that skills such as teamwork are useless in such cases, but nothing could be further from the truth. As he recalls of the astronaut selection process:
“A chief astronaut used to call the reception of the clinic where the applicants were sent for medical tests to find out which ones treated the staff well and which ones didn’t. […] A person with a superiority complex could unwittingly, right there in the waiting room, ruin his chances of ever going into space.”
A person with a superiority complex could unwittingly ruin his chances of ever going into space. Everything counts. If you have the wrong idea of what it means to add value, you may never get the chance to do it.
That’s why Hadfield believes that one of the best ways to add value is to start by aiming to be a zero, that is, to aspire to have a neutral impact.
Aim to be a zero, at least in the beginning.
On one of his first space missions, Hadfield, eager to learn as much as possible, decided to observe the behavior of the most experienced astronaut on the mission. As he recounts in his book An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth, “I was observing the most experienced astronaut in our crew […] and I noticed that he would come into the office an hour early and quietly go through our commander’s inbox, taking care of all the administrative details himself so that the commander could concentrate on the important things”.
Common sense tells us that it should be the other way round. The most experienced should do the most important tasks, leaving the less attractive ones to the newcomers. Everyone wants to be a +1. And nobody wants to be a -1. But it is best to aim to be a zero, at least in the beginning.
Aiming to be neutral may be one of the best ways to become someone who adds value. It may sound counterintuitive, but sometimes it makes all the difference. Doing the dirty work, like Mandela with the chamber pot or the astronaut checking the inbox, may not seem like a useful task, but it really is if it helps others do their best.
Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger are considered two of the greatest investors of all time. When asked what made them so good, Charlie Munger said: “It’s remarkable how much long-term advantage people like us have gained by trying not to be stupid, rather than trying to be very smart.”
When you enter a new environment, such as a new job, you always want to add value. But, as we have seen throughout this article, you have to be careful. If you are desperate to stand out, you are more likely to make more mistakes. As Hadfield says: “The ideal entry is not to sail in and immediately make your presence known. It is to enter without causing a domino effect. The best way to contribute to a new environment is not to try to show how wonderful you are. It is to try to have a neutral impact, to observe and learn from those who are already there, and to help with the dirty work whenever possible.”
Rather than actively seeking to add value, seek to do no harm. To paraphrase Charlie Munger, seeking brilliance is difficult, but avoiding stupidity is easier. Avoiding stupidity is analogous to striving to become someone with a neutral impact. If you do that, sooner or later you will be the kind of person who adds value.