The complexity of the business world today is outstanding. Nothing is predictable. The rules of the game are changing. Just when you think you’ve figured out how to have a competitive advantage, a competitor develops a new technology. Just when you think you’ve found the right motivation tool, the values in your workforce seem to shift. Just when you think you’ve found the right geographical area for the expansion of your internationalization efforts, political turmoil erupts.
Yet some people seem to have an uncanny knack for knowing what’s going to happen before it unfolds. They are able to create new rules for the game instead of following the rules everyone else follows. They are able to plan a strategy that seems absurd to most people at first, and is later called brilliant when it’s successful. They are a part of an unusual breed of leaders called edgewalkers.
An edgewalker is someone who walks between two worlds. In ancient cultures each tribe or village had a shaman or medicine man. This was the person who walked into the invisible world to get information, guidance, and healing for members of the tribe. This was one of the most important roles in the village. Without a shaman the tribe will be at the mercy gods and spirits, the vagaries of the cosmos.
The skill of walking between the worlds hasn’t died out, in fact, it’s even more relevant today. Organizations that will thrive in this century will embrace and nurture edgewalkers. Because of their unique skills, they are the bridge-builders linking and facilitating different approaches, strategies, and techniques.
Walking on the Leading Edge
Five key skills form the hallmark of an edgewalker
Vision consciousness
Multicultural responsiveness
Intuitive sensitivity
Risk-taking confidence
Self-awareness
Vision Consciousness
Edgewalkers begin with visionary consciousness. All their other skills are in the service of a sense of mission about something greater than themselves. They feel called to make a difference in the world. The visionary skills arise out of a strong sense of values and integrity. Often these values are developed through some kind of painful experience or loss, and the edgewaker becomes committed to helping other people who may be going through similar kinds of experiences. Typically, the edgewalkers have gone through a major personal or career change that requires them to develop new skills that were never needed previously. Edgewalkers are the consummate integrators of seemingly unrelated ideas, skills, and fields.
Multicultural Responsiveness
Edgewalkers must have strong multicultural responsiveness. They are bilingual in the sense that they can understand the nuances of different worlds or cultures. They span conventional boundaries and act as translators. Edgewalkers know how to pick up on subtle cues that are different from their own. They pay minute attention to people different from themselves and have an open, warm curiosity about people from other cultures. They look for commonalities more than differences, and they want to know more about the worlds of others.
Intuitive Sensitivity
Edgewalkers have strong intuitive sensitivity. They are natural futurists. Because they are avid readers, they are constantly integrating information from many sources and looking for underlying themes and patterns. Like all shamans of old, they’ve learned to pay attention to subtle, perhaps invisible, signs of potential change. They have an uncanny knack for making the right decisions, often taking action that seems counterintuitive to others. But, when asked how they knew what to do in the particular situation, they have difficulty explaining. They reply, I just “knew.”
Intuitive skills are gained through the practice of deep listening. When listening to others, edgewalkers listen as much for the unsaid as the said. They also look for coincidences, patterns or synchronicities that might provide clues to guide them in their decision making.
Risk-taking Confidence
Another strong skill that edgewalkers display is the skill of calculated risk-taking confidence. Edgewalkers have a strong sense of adventure and experimentation. They are always attracted to their next new thing. Like entrepreneurs, edgewalkers are easily bored with stability and are attracted to what’s over the horizon. They are constantly asking what the next is and trying to figure out how to be part of it. Because they are able to walk in two worlds, the world of practicality and the world of creativity, the risks they take to jump into the next new thing are based on information and intuition. Having a clear vision guided by strong values helps the edgewalker take risks that might not make sense to others.
Self-awareness
The most important edgewalker skill is that of self-awareness. A principle that edgewalkers understand is that each person is a microcosm of the whole. Leaders who are edgewalkers know that if they are experiencing a vision or dream or hunger, it’s most likely arising in others as well. The challenge to the edgewalker is to find others who have the same passion and to work together to make a difference. Leaders who are edgewalkers have a strong sense of being connected to something greater than themselves.
These five skills can be taught. However, the leaders who tend to learn best strongly value their own personal development and have low control needs.
Avoiding Potential Pitfalls
Edgewalkers can often get too far ahead of the pack. If this happens, they lose their credibility and the opportunity to influence others to do creative work. It’s nice to have someone say you are ahead of your time, but these are few rewards for being too far out there. The most successful edgewalker can remain in the real world and can remember established language and values so they can be a bridge to new ideas. For this reason, you should:
Watch for signs that you may be getting far out on the edge; if this seems to be happening, revisit your own past experience, current priorities and future aspirations.
When you have a new idea that you want to implement, talk to people who are likely to disagree with you or try to block you.
Create relationships with people who can provide a good reality check.
Have patience with people who don’t want to move as fast as you do, take time to build relationships with them and specifically ask for their support.
Cultivate the skill of honoring people who disagree with you; listen to any pearls of wisdom they have to offer.
Be very aware of your highest values and have a strong commitment to integrity. Even if you get too far out on the edge, you will know you are doing it for the right reasons.
If you feel blocked at every turn by people committed to the status quo, consider finding a different organization to work for, or even going out on your own. Being an edgewalker can feel very lonely, connect with other edgewalkers for support and inspiration.
Edgewalkers are the leaders of the future. They are the corporate shamans who bring wisdom and guidance for their organizations. It’s not an easy role to play, but it’s one that’s essential to the success of your organization – and one that can make you feel fully alive.
…………………………………………………….
