In leadership, three defining traits are commitment, consistency, and persistence.When Maryland Governor Wes Moore stepped in front of microphones to speak to a gaggle of reporters gathered for a press conference about the tragic bridge collapse in Baltimore this week, a reporter threw him a softball question that another politician might have answered bureaucratically.Moore gave viewers a window into the pain he was feeling not only as a politician but as a Marylander.
As a journalist and executive coach to CEOs and startup entrepreneurs, I’ve studied scores of case studies, and I’ve identified the key to great: going all in. It’s transformative when you risk everything and consistently and persistently commit your time, energy, and convictions to a mission and vision instead of sitting on the fence. It seems obvious, but in reality, it’s incredibly hard to do over a long period of time.
The power of “all in” expresses itself in people from ordinary walks of life. They are leaders in their field after investing 100 percent of themselves in their work, no matter how humble or seemingly insignificant.
When Addario and three fellow journalists were documenting the Arab Spring uprising in Libya in March 2011, the unthinkable happened at a hostile checkpoint. The journalists had lingered too long to complete their reporting on the front lines and were cornered and taken hostage by Col. Muammar Gaddafi’s troops. They were beaten repeatedly, tied up, blindfolded, and threatened with execution before being released nearly a week later.