During an appearance on Barstool Sports' Bussin' With The Boys podcast, Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs Travis Kelce revealed one of the many reasons why he admires his superstar girlfriend, Taylor Swift.
He explained how she “understands situations”, big and small, a skill that can sometimes elude powerful people who can get used to the feeling that everything is about them. “She's very self-aware. And I think that's why I really grew to love her, was how genuine she is around friends (and) family,” he said. “It can get crazy for someone with so much attention … and she just keeps it so cool and so cool.”
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Writing about power in Harvard Business ReviewJulie Battilana and Tiziana Casciaro say, “We are all susceptible to its intoxicating effects. While the power to take charge and drive change is essential, it leaves you vulnerable to two insidious traps—arrogance and self-centeredness—that not only can they erode their own effectiveness, but also undermine that of your team.”
People who have reached great heights of success can lead to a kind of blindness to the people around them and their experiences, they write, which leads to a decrease in performance all around. “You can't lead colleagues you don't understand—and people aren't motivated or able to contribute their best efforts if they perceive you're detached from them and not interested in them. You can be able to keep up in the short term, but eventually their performance will suffer and your leadership may be called into question,” the authors write.
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As we've all seen in the news, Swift is an extremely empathetic leader, stopping her shows mid-show to call for help on behalf of struggling audience members and always taking time to publicly thank staff members of the venues she is performing in.
Leaders who are able to cultivate cultures of humility, empathy, and accountability, Battilana and Casciaro say, avoid the pitfalls of arrogance and self-absorption and increase their effectiveness as well as the performance of their teams.