Not Always Right To Be Right
Do you believe that there are instances where it is not always right to be right? In this episode of Incorporating Superpowers, host Justin Recla welcomes Hamish Thomson. Hamish is a New Zealander by birth and a seasoned global leadership executive. In a 30-year career, he has been a successful CEO/Regional President and Global Brand head for Mars Incorporated and a senior marketing and sales lead for Reebok International and a fresh-faced account executive in the London advertising scene. Tune in as they discuss the importance of why it’s not always right to be right.
Justin Recla:
Welcome back to Incorporating Superpowers. Today, we’re going to be talking about a topic that probably should be looked at and implemented across the board at every level of leadership possible. And it’s the idea that it’s not always right to be right. And I think this is something that, well, when you look out in the world, you see a lot of egos. You see a lot of people just wanting to be right and not willing to meet other people in the middle of things. And that only can ever take us so far as the society, within our own individual organizations and so forth.
And the beautiful thing is that my guest today is the author of the book called It’s Not Always Right to be Right: And Other Hard-Won Leadership Lessons. My guest today is Hamish Thomson. He is well, he’s been around and done a thing or two in the corporate world, and I want to bring him on so he can share a little bit more of his experience with you in how he got to be the author of where this book came from and the lessons learned and how he learned them all. Hamish welcome to the show.
Hamish Thomson:
Hello, Justin, lovely to be here.
Justin Recla:
So, Hamish, it’s not always right to be right. Talking to me about what, what does that mean from just a leadership perspective?
Hamish Thomson:
I think it’s, I love the concept itself and unfortunately, it’s something a lot of us in our both personal and also corporate experience. You need to go through a number of mistakes, lessons, insights to start to realize that there are so many things that you have always thought are right. But when you actually step back and look at the bigger picture, it’s not always right to be right. And I think we are all inherently driven individuals. We’re all competitive. But normally when you interact with people on a personal or on a corporate sense, they’re normally one-off interactions, there’s a winner, there’s a loser.
You play an intellectual sparring game and you believe as a leader, you need to be right. The great leaders of those ones who actually step back are quite happy to have other opinions accepted well ahead of their own. They concede with total vulnerability when we get that role and equally, it helps thought diversity and development of others. So it’s a good lesson. Not everyone follows it, so I’m not saying that’s right, but it’s certainly, it’s made me a better person, both corporately but also within an overall personal sense.
Justin Recla:
I love it because we see this it’s another area of leadership. It’s a leadership style that a lot of people refer to as servant leadership, right? A lot of people have taken that to mean something completely different, but if we’re going to be leaders in whatever organization, entity, or whatever that we play in, we have to be in service to the bigger picture. We have to be in service to the mission and the vision. And sometimes that means eating crow and recognizing that we’re not always going to be right as leaders and we’re better served to do something different. So in your travels, in your experience, how often do you come across the servant leader mindset versus that egocentric mindset?
Hamish Thomson:
I think it depends first and foremost, Justin, on what type of culture, the business that you are part of. And fortunately, I’ve had a good experience with a number of things. I started out with advertising and then Reebok within Europe and then the last 20 years in the US, Europe, and also Australia within Mars Incorporated. And the best businesses in my mind are those who have an egalitarian approach where everyone’s opinion accounts, those leaders realize that they are there to serve others ahead of themselves. That there’s a bigger cause as of such. So I think when you’re part of a good culture, I think you get that leadership style a lot more. Unfortunately, those who are right, I mentioned before you learn this, as you start your journey, thinking you need to be right as a leader. Unfortunately often the very senior, most senior leaders within a corporate world are often the worst offenders that had historical success. So they even believe in their own mind that, well, of course, I’m right. I’ve always had that context and content of being right. So it does vary greatly.
Justin Recla:
I imagine, and I like the fact that you highlight the fact that those that are willing to really set themselves aside and look at things differently are the ones that seem to have more success. Hey, before we go into the break, where can, where can people go find more information about you, your book, and the work that you’re doing in the world?
Hamish Thomson:
Listen, my, probably the best element would be my websites. So that’s hamishrthomson.com. So that’s probably there, I’ve got a Twitter handle, etc., but probably most of my elements are hamishrthomson.com.
Justin Recla:
Fantastic folks. Good. Take a look at what Hamish is doing in the world. Take a look at his book and the concepts that we’re discussing here are just scratching the surface. And some of the things that Hamish has experienced and shares with you in his book, this is good stuff. And when we get back, we’re going to dive down the rabbit hole just a little bit further and take a look at some of the importance of what this looks like in personal life as well. And I know you’ve got a passion project that you’re a part of, and we’ll talk about that right after the break. But before we do folks, if you’re looking for a community that can support you, uplift you, help you with your own emotional intelligence work within your own relationships, and learns how to work with one another. Go take a look at the Superpower Plus Community by visiting superpowerexperts.com. You’ll get all the information you need there. We’ll be right back.
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