Lead Like Stephen Amell

Actor Stephen Amell never worked under Jack Welch, isn’t a graduate of a prestigious leadership institute and doesn’t have a biography from Walter Isaacson. Yet despite the fact you’ve probably never heard of him, he’s a leader worth modeling. To find out why, it’s worth looking at the leadership skills and attributes that we all value.

In 2014, leadership development gurus Zenger & Folkman asked 332,860 bosses, peers and subordinates about the skills that have the highest impact on a leader’s success. Their article for the Harvard Business Review provides a deeper dive into their findings, but the top five leadership competencies are:

1. Inspires and motivates others
2. Displays high integrity and honesty
3. Solves problems and analyzes issues
4. Drives for results
5. Communicates powerfully and prolifically

So how do these traits present with Amell? A quick trip through his social media presence shows that he’s not only a frequent and savvy user of the medium (#5 ✔), but that he also acts transparently and genuinely (#2 ✔). Further, his business and philanthropic ventures (Nocking Point Wines, Dudes Being Dudes in Wine Country, F Cancer) show an ability to analyze issues (#3 ✔) and drive for results (#4 ✔) through the inspiration and motivation of others (#1 ✔).

Notwithstanding the fact that his day job often involves eyeliner, masks and mastery of the Salmon Ladder (btw, he’s also a sometime “semi” professional wrestler), Amell displays many of the character traits that we want from modern leaders. Nearly every celebrity has business and charity interests beyond their profession. Not many celebrities, though, manage to maintain an honest dialogue with their fans let alone translate that dialogue into meaningful results.

So as you check the boxes on your own leadership development wish list, don’t discount modeling some of your behaviors on the actor that portrays The Green Arrow. Who knows – you might look good in green.

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© 2016 Chad C. Harvey. All Rights Reserved