Niiamah Ashong is coached by a fellow leader in a Tribe 1:1 session on the Outlier's Edge Podcast, picking up partway through a longer conversation about pioneer leading. Exploring what happens inside a pioneer leader who knows what to do and hasn't started yet, the fellow leader points out that searching for common traits of pioneer leaders works against Niiamah Ashong's own belief that everyone is different. What emerged is his aha moment: when he is trying to be a pioneer leader is the time he is most not one, so he chose to stop trying and simply be.
Episode at a glance
- Host: Niiamah Ashong, coach to outlier leaders
- Show: Outlier’s Edge Podcast, released October 13, 2021
- Format: session, 25 minutes
- Topics: Pioneer leading, Consuming versus creating, Leading visibly, Everyone is different, Trying versus being, Serving by being yourself
What this session is about
Niiamah Ashong came into this part of the conversation creating work for the people he calls his pioneers, and wanting to lead more visibly by recording and sharing the conversations he is already having. He described what pioneer leaders tend to do when they know what to do but haven't started: they go looking for more information, reading another book or listening to another podcast, because consuming is easier than creating. The fellow leader, who says Niiamah Ashong had helped with something very difficult to grab onto earlier in their conversation, brought a direct reflection: what makes Niiamah Ashong different is how he reads each moment and owns being different in it. Drawing on an intensive where no one knew what would happen and each person came away with something different, the fellow leader showed that pioneer leaders don't need a common set of traits.
What emerged
The turn came when the fellow leader named a contradiction: Niiamah Ashong's core belief is that the one thing everyone has in common is that everyone is different, yet he was trying to fit pioneer leaders into a box of common traits. Niiamah Ashong saw that it's less about teaching how to be a pioneer leader and more about pioneer leading, so that people see what he's doing and want more of it. He landed on the aha in his own words: when he is trying to be a pioneer leader is the time he is most not one, and it is of service for him to simply be of service, because the way he chooses to serve will be the pioneer leading way.
Questions this episode answers
What do leaders do when they know what to do but haven't started?
Niiamah Ashong says they go looking for more information: they read another book, listen to another podcast and get into consuming mode, because it's a lot easier to consume than to create. He adds that rather than getting the simplest version out there, they turn it into a super complicated thing where all the pieces need to come together.
Can you teach someone to be a pioneer leader?
In this conversation Niiamah Ashong concluded that it's less about teaching how to be a pioneer leader and more about pioneer leading himself, so that people see it and want more of it. The fellow leader pointed out that building a box of common traits works against his belief that everyone is different.
Why can trying to be a certain kind of leader get in the way of leading?
Niiamah Ashong realized that when he is trying to be a pioneer leader is the time he is most not one. The fellow leader added that putting so much pressure on who a leader needs to be can keep them from realizing they are already leading, and that showing up is leading.
How can a leader become more visible without changing what they do?
Niiamah Ashong said that pioneer leading for him would mean doing a lot of the same things he already does, but visibly, setting up each conversation as one he will record and share. The fellow leader encouraged him to keep being in the world and sharing what he is up to and feeling in the moment, so that pioneer leaders connect with him.
What is the difference between trying to lead and being of service?
Niiamah Ashong said it is not of service for him to try to be a pioneer leader; it is of service for him to simply be of service. The way he chooses to serve, he said, will be the pioneer leading way.
In their words
When I am trying to be a pioneer leader is the time that I'm most not a pioneer leader.
Niiamah Ashong
You don't even realize that you're leading.
A participant
The more that I'm trying to figure out how to get it right for people is the more that I'm going wrong.
Niiamah Ashong
Key moments
00:31 – What pioneer leading would look like
01:03 – Leading visibly, out of the shadows
03:05 – Consuming instead of creating
05:37 – Making the simple complicated
09:11 – The dynamic they co-created
12:55 – A contradiction in his philosophy
15:59 – Pioneer leading instead of teaching it
19:03 – The aha moment
20:48 – Trying to get it right
22:49 – Simply being of service
About Niiamah Ashong
Niiamah Ashong is a coach to outlier leaders, host of the Outlier’s Edge Podcast, and founder of the Trailblazer Collective. He coaches leaders who are creating something only they can make: a company, a body of work or a movement. Make a difference with your difference.
Work with Niiamah: 1:1 with Niiamah | World of Difference
Continue into Outlier’s Edge World:
Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Youtube | Website | Guild Community
Reader Interactions