“Fake it till you make it” – it’s become something of a business cheat code to success. The idea is seductively simple: it doesn’t matter if you lack the knowledge or experience, as long as you can convincingly look the part. How you are seen, the saying implies, is everything.
But unfortunately, even if the idea of swapping experience for appearance seems like a handy shortcut to success, you’re likely to get caught out in the end.
This is especially true when it comes to leadership. It is a skill that cannot be faked but needs to be developed. Your leadership story is a deeply rooted sense of who you are as a leader. You cannot simply clock in and out when it comes to being a leader. Leader identities transcend your (working) time and place.
When you think of the exemplary, visionary and values-driven leaders – whether that be politicians, CEOs or sports stars – they are certainly not figures who switch their leader identity off when they walk through the office doors (or leave the playing field). They are leaders who, in non-workplace scenarios, are also likely to lead from the front rather than sit on the sidelines.
Not every workplace has a Martin Luther King, Queen Elizabeth or Indra Nooyi at their helm, of course. And for many managers, leadership skills are something they’ve needed to build throughout their careers. Leadership isn’t binary. Most managers fall somewhere along a broad continuum of emerging skills and confidence.
Through our research, we wanted to understand whether the many faces that individuals have inside and outside of work have a truly meaningful impact on how they lead in the workplace. In early careers, many of us padded our CVs with extra-curricular activities – but who knows whether managing the community garden, heading up the coding club, or engaging in the local art collective could actually make you a better leader at work?
Plural, dual or singular — which leader are you?
To explore this, we reviewed many ways people can configure their leadership stories to understand which was most effective in the workplace, identifying three leadership configurations: plural, dual, and singular.
Plural leaders are those who see their leadership as deeply intertwined with their deeply held values and convictions. They have a differentiated understanding of who they are as leaders, are adaptive, and can link the dots across the different parts of their lives. They draw on their rich experiences both inside and outside the workplace to inform how they lead during their 9-5.
Dual leaders are at the early stages of connecting their leadership at work with their world outside of it – typically through one other role, such as being a parent, a mentor, or a member in the local sports team. These leaders are growing in self-awareness but have not yet fully joined the dots between work and life.
Singular leaders, meanwhile, have a simplified understanding of who they are as leaders and see leadership as something isolated – a workplace role that is switched on at the start of the working day, with little consideration of how their other roles at work (e.g., being a follower to others) and their life outside work could help them grow.
Crafting your own leadership story? Become a plural leader
One of the most striking features of plural leaders is that they are truly adaptable, able to draw on a wide range of life experiences to develop a broader set of tools to help solve problems and support others in their personal and professional lives. They bring their whole selves to work and have a more holistic view of what leadership involves.
Plural leaders are also more empathetic. Having navigated multiple roles in life – parent, friend, community member, colleague – they naturally develop a greater understanding of different perspectives, making them better at listening to others and taking their needs and perspectives seriously. That, at its core, is what good leadership looks like.
They are also more resilient, bouncing back from adversity faster than their peers, while being more authentic in their approach and growing in their roles more quickly too.
In short, a leader whose identity is fully interconnected – across the many roles they take at both work and life – enables others and themselves to work at their highest potential.
How can singular and dual leaders become plural?
All is not lost for singular and dual leaders. There are clear ways for them to develop further – and it is very much in an organization’s interest to help them do so. Here are three ways companies can move their managers toward plural leadership.
Firstly, organizations need to create space for self-reflection. Building structured time into leadership programs – and activities such as journaling, guided questions, or open conversations – can help leaders become more self-aware of how they are seen as a leader by their peers and by those they are responsible for, helping them to identify areas for improvement and growth.
Secondly, organizations should connect leadership development to life outside of work. Traditional training focuses too narrowly on workplace skills. Broadening this to encourage leaders to draw on experiences from their multiple roles inside and outside of work – exploring how being a parent, a volunteer, or a community member shapes the way they lead – can make a real difference.
Finally, a progressive, staged approach to development is key. Organizations should guide leaders gradually through the stages – singular, dual, and plural – with tailored activities and reflective exercises at each step. Meeting leaders where they are, and moving them forward intentionally, is how truly well-rounded leaders are built.
It’s easy to picture the world’s best leaders as the organizer of their local running club, the head of their street’s neighborhood watch, or the one who always plans the group holiday. Leadership, for them, is simply who they are.
Crafting your leadership story unlocks new opportunities for yourself and others. Unlike DNA, leadership can be grown and developed. Singular leaders can become plural leaders when they cultivate positive relationships with their colleagues, families, friends, and wider communities, and view leadership as an integrated rather than fragmented part of who they are. They just need the right support to get there.
