The Golden Mean

This is at the core of all the work that we do, on the basis that excellence isn’t a fixed thing; it takes continual curation and constant effort in the right direction. 

The best leaders, those that inspire us the most, bring out the best in us and who we’d follow in a heartbeat, are masters at holding their qualities and attitudes together. They exude what ancient philosophers describe as the Golden Mean, or the Golden Middle Way. Or perhaps as Goldilocks would say, they are neither too tough nor too soft, they are ‘just right.’

Take courage as an example. A deficiency of courage leads to cowardice, backing away from fear, running away from both threats and opportunity. An excess of courage creates reckless bravado, ignoring all risks and jumping rashly into potentially damaging situations.

True courage sits between these extremes. Excellent leaders with courage take the initiative to create new opportunities. They face problems head-on and press through with tenacity.

It takes practice and effort to stay in the middle. There are benefits to straying on either side. Avoiding injury is perhaps an obvious pay-off for not getting involved in a potentially threatening situation. What could be the pay-off for acting with bravado? People who have this unhealthy habit get an adrenaline rush from risk; ‘no pain, no gain,’ they say.

There are four areas of life in which we all need to hold the Golden Middle Way if we are to flourish. Leaders need to hold this especially if they are to encourage and enable others to flourish too. Do you recognise any of these traits and beliefs?

 1. Drive

Healthy ambition allows us to pursue new opportunities and create good things and experiences for ourselves and others.

• ‘I’m working hard to make this (good thing) happen, but not at the expense of my friendships or health.’  

An excess of drive can create greed and workaholism. Never being satisfied with enough, working to excess in order to generate more money and ever grander experiences.

• ‘If I burn hard for the next 3 or 4 years, I can pay off my mortgage and set myself and my family up for good.’  

A deficiency in drive causes apathy and the vice of sloth. Laziness is part of this, but it goes further than having an off day. It’s a decision to avoid living a meaningful life or to do anything even remotely uncomfortable.

• ‘I’ve worked hard for 20 years; I deserve to coast it out until I retire.’ 

2. Care 

Taking care of relationships and work that matters takes effort and action. It’s not merely a nice sentiment; it requires practical acts and excellent timing: whether that’s completing tasks accurately and on time, complimenting a loved one at the right time or bringing constructive critique to a colleague at the right time.

An excess of care creates over-control and busyness.

• ‘I can’t trust others to do it properly, so I need to check in all the time. In fact, I’ll just do it myself.’ 

Neglect will sabotage relationships, reputation and quality of work.

• ‘I’m just so busy, I’m bound to be late.’

• ’Oh, sorry, I forgot it was your birthday.’  

3. Awareness

We all need an element of constructive, healthy fear to recognise a potential threat or problem ahead of time. Assessing risk requires a sophisticated blend of cognitive skill and intuition - evidenced research mixed with ‘data’ from experience and instinct. It’s sensing some risk, testing those concerns and then taking informed and courageous action. Great leaders exercise good judgement.

A deficiency of awareness creates conditions for both recklessness and physical strain.

• ‘We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.’

• ‘I don’t need any help even though a normal person would.’ ’I can push through regardless.’  

Excessive awareness is marked by high levels of fear which can become crippling.

• ‘I’m not prepared to make a decision until we have every single duck in a row.’

• ‘That will feel uncomfortable, so I’ll avoid that for now.’ 

4.  Hope

Problems and pain arise for all of us. Leaders, especially, need sharp problem-solving skills; the ability to solve and solve again. This includes obtaining the necessary support and resources, removing sources of stress (sometimes people, sometimes processes), and changing things that are not working.

A lack of hope creates conditions for quiet misery and resignation.

• ‘I’ll just have to put up with this rubbish.’

• ‘They will never do anything about this anyway.’

• ‘No one will help me, so I’ll just have to suck it up.’

This is a horrible place to be.

Excessive hope causes blind optimism, presumption and overcommitment. Whilst some view this as high performance, the lack of realism eventually results in burnout, even for those people around the fast actor.

Excellence resides in the tension between the extremes. The Golden Middle Way can be a narrow path. Recognising when we are drifting off the path is the first step in taking action to protect and strengthen our character and leadership. Whether a regular reflective practice, accountability with trusted peers/friends or a more structured development programme, we can all benefit from spotting when we’re heading off the Golden Middle and take action to bring ourselves back.

What helps you to stay on the course, we’d love to hear!