3 Ways To Become An Above Average Leader By Dolly Waddell with Nicholas Wainwright

Is exceptional leadership a rare trait?

According to Gallup, only about one in ten leaders possess the natural talent to excellently manage and lead teams, retain top performers, and sustain a culture of high productivity.

Recently, on the extra-Ordinary Leaders podcast, I was joined by a very special guest. Nicholas Wainwright, President of Boodles, who also happens to be my dad – one of my favourite heroes. 

In this article, I’ll share Nicholas’ top insights for exceptional leadership, drawn from over half a century’s worth of experience at the helm of a successful, family-owned business.

What is extra-Ordinary leadership?

extra-Ordinary leadership can mean different things to different people. For some leaders, it means making a difference for your team; while for others, it means self-awareness and the ability to adjust.

For Nicholas Wainwright, extra-Ordinary leadership means being better than average.

However, this raises a critical question: how can leaders tell if they’re hitting the mark and truly being better than their competitors? 

Whilst it’s important for leaders to give themselves due credit every now and then, many people tend to fall victim to the better-than-average-effect (BTAE) when carrying out self-evaluation or introspection.
Scientists describe this effect as “the tendency for people to perceive their abilities, attributes, and personality traits as superior compared with their average peers.”

As a leader, when your judgement is clouded by this personal bias, it becomes exceedingly difficult to scale up your performance and become better than average. After all, how can you improve if you don’t even know you have a problem?

Fortunately, there are some metrics upon which we can judge our performance and pinpoint areas that need improvement.

Metrics to judge your performance

Nicholas: “You’ll know that you’re performing better than average by looking at your results, relationships with staff, and how you feel about yourself and your performance. 

If you want to become better than average as a leader, you must try to do your best. If your best is truly your best, it's extraordinary.

If it's not your best, you end up making the wrong decisions, losing money rather than making it, and eventually, the business fails.”

Nicholas raises an interesting point. To gauge whether we’re truly better than average, we have to do our best and assess some tangible metrics. Is everyone on your team happy? Are you making profits? Are you giving your customers what they need?

These are the critical questions to ask.

But what happens if your best is sub-par or below average? Whilst no leader ever wants to come face-to-face with this realisation, if you do find yourself at this level, here are three things you can do to steer your performance in the right direction.

1. Love what you do

Nicholas: “For anyone in business, it’s okay if you don't love it, if you don't look forward to Monday mornings and you're desperate to retire at 60.

But if you love and enjoy what you do, regardless of whatever line of business you’re in, you’ll probably have a head start against your competition. If other businesses loathe Mondays, they’re probably not that good, which gives you a competitive advantage.”

People who enjoy their jobs are more likely to be optimistic and motivated, learn faster, and make better business decisions. In 2005, Steve Jobs stood in front of the graduating class at Stanford and shared a critical nugget of advice: “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”

However, the reality is that not everyone feels that way. While you may love what you do as a leader, your team members may not necessarily feel the same love and passion that you do towards their day-to-day activities.

In scenarios like this, leaders are required to make the right hiring decisions and ensure that their teams are equipped with everything they need to thrive. 

Nicholas: “It all boils down to picking people who want to work for you. One of the criteria I often look out for is attitude. I'm not interested in GCSEs or A-levels. I'm more interested in whether you have the right attitude. 

If they've got the right attitude, then ensure that as a company, you provide them with the right surroundings they need to thrive: 90 per cent praise, 10 per cent [constructive] criticism to help them. But if you've got the wrong material to start with, it will be tough.”

2. Create good old connections

In recent years, there has been a significant amount of debate around the old school vs. new school mindset and approach to leadership. 

The old school leadership style is often more hierarchical. On the other hand, the new school approach involves a lot more self-management and collaborative work.

However, as leadership evolves and takes on a new shape with each passing decade, it’s critical to hold on to some of the old strategies that can help us become more connected leaders, leading with excellence.

Nicholas: “In business, it’s important not to completely throw the old school out with the bathwater because there are so many wonderful old school attributes and talents which young people may not agree with.

For instance, a lot of younger people spend their lives sending out hundreds of emails a day which I think is ridiculous. I personally think that four out of five emails are not worth the paper they're written on.

There’s something to be said about actually speaking to people and connecting with them.”

3. Drop the “zero-email inbox” mindset

Nicholas raises quite an interesting point. Many leaders and employees today are often under pressure to send out emails and carry out dozens of administrative tasks that probably can be replaced by genuine human connection.

Almost 60 per cent of leaders report feeling worn out at the end of each day. The question is: why?

A major culprit of this exhaustion is the computer screen and the sheer number of emails that leaders, companies, and teams have to field each day. Many businesses believe (often unconsciously) that they have to adopt the “zero-email inbox” approach – where the goal is to always keep your inbox 100 per cent empty to feel on top.

Whilst this approach to email management can be effective, it also can make things more complicated than they need to be. Sometimes a phone call might suffice and perhaps even yield more efficient results than a long email thread would have.

It might be old-school but it still works!

Final thoughts

Becoming an above-average leader means loving what you do, making genuine connections, and knowing when to ditch the inbox for a more personal touch. It requires humility to admit when you're below average and the courage to do something about it. 

So, whether you're leading a small team or at the helm of a large organisation, remember that extra-Ordinary leadership is within your grasp. By applying these insights and continuously seeking to improve, you can rise above the average and make a real difference in the lives of those you lead and the success of your business.

For more insights on above-average leadership and the old school vs the new school approach, listen to my full conversation with Nicholas on the extra-Ordinary Leaders podcast.

If you like what you hear with Dolly and Nicholas, they are doing shared keynotes and presentations together, so do get in touch if you have a day with your teams/businesses and want some impact and some fun – we can help you become extra-Ordinary. 

You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel or explore the free resources I have on my website for more insights on how to dial up the extra-Ordinary in your leadership.