William Vanderbloemen
William Vanderbloemen’s latest book, Be the Unicorn: Data-Driven Habits that Separate the Best Leaders from the Rest, is a goldmine of information. He gets right at what the best leaders do and how they think. With a plethora of examples from business, non-profits and church life, he illustrates twelve traits and habits.
What turns my crank is that his observations are based on 30,000 interviews with leaders. This gives the book a razor-sharp edge on seeing things that effective leaders do well. William’s quotes and short case studies illustrate his twelve points with great clarity.
Here is how I applied two of the habits and traits. Read the book to get the other ten.
The Authentic
17% of the Unicorns identified most with being Authentic. That is about double from any of the other categories. It is also a blow to me. That means that 17% of the people are strong in Authenticity, while I have to work all the time just to get an average grade. This fact underscores one of William’s tenets, that you won’t be strong at everything but good habits can help you become stronger. The Unicorns hold a skill set that can be learned. What we’ve discovered in our research is that people have skills that can be developed by anyone (p. xviii). There is hope for me to continue to grow in this area!
In working on this area, my wife and I began to change one small thing. A server in a restaurant, for example, might ask, How are you? We would each reply but then began to ask, And how are you? I asked this of an older Hispanic woman who was an assistant to the waiter. She stopped pouring the water. She looked around the room and replied, Of all the people here, you are the only one to ask me that! That made working on this trait all the sweeter.
The Solver
1% of the Unicorns identified most with being a Solver. That is my sweet spot and I enjoyed how William talked about my strengths! We all like it when someone speaks into what we do well. However, I also had to realize that there are not many Solvers out there. So my approach needs to be gentle, not going straight to solutions, but helping people get there at their own speed. The ability to keep your head in a panicked, rushed situation will set you apart from the crowd (p. 56) and Solving problems in a group can be threatening, exhausting, and frustrating, but … lead to innovation that wouldn’t otherwise have happened (p. 59).
Be the Unicorn is a helpful and practical book for all leaders. William provides action-oriented steps along the way to grow in areas of strength and lassitude. This book is a blockbuster for all who want to be the best that they can be.
