I am not the typical 'leader' - the distinguished, white, male, ivy-school graduate with the privileged background and
exclusive network. And yet I've been asked to speak on leadership and innovation for the past two decades. This week, I'm speaking on the topic of - What does it take to lead? I'm profiling an early experience, an early memory, to help everyone think deeply about what it takes to lead, how they are leading well, and what else they can do to fearlessly lead.
When I was five, I lived in Hong Kong and we were assigned so much homework it took me four hours to complete it. So I charmed my uncle into doing it for me. When my teacher asked who did my homework and why, I responded that my uncle did my homework because I thought that four hours of homework was excessive. I got sent back to my seat without a comment. We got much less homework. Everyone looked at me differently after that.
From this example, what does it take to lead?
Self-Awareness.
It starts with knowing and under…