What Can We Learn From Taylor Swift?

By Gary Thomson, Andersen Alumnus and currently a Managing Director at Thomson Consulting

In a world where the fear of mediocrity often drives us, it's fascinating to observe individuals who transform this fear into a relentless pursuit of excellence, such as Taylor Swift.

I'll admit it: I am not a “Swifty”. However, I am not anti-Swifty. What truly captures my attention about Taylor Swift is her obsession with being exceptional. Whether you're a dedicated fan or have children who are, you might have stumbled upon her admissions about her fear of being average. Which, in my opinion, has ultimately led to her superstardom.

Let's be clear: Swift is a very talented artist and musician, but what makes her exceptional isn't her natural talent; it's her drive, motivation, and obsession to be above average.

Another person who intrigues me is Sahith Theegala, who won his first PGA tournament last year. I read that he said in an interview he had always been a very good golfer, and then he got on the PGA Tour. He went on to say, “I realized to compete with the best I need to be obsessed with getting better." If you know me, you know I jotted that down immediately after reading that.

This conversation about transcending mediocrity extends to our profession. A managing partner of an incredibly successful firm recently shared with me that he is extremely introverted. And my initial thought was 'no way,' but he said his need to achieve was more motivating than being in his comfort zone. Like Swift and Theegala, he didn’t let performance be impacted by being comfortable.

Drawing from these examples, my question is: How do we take good people and make them exceptional, or as David Maister puts it, 'dynamos?'

We continue to talk about the next generation in terms of what they are not or don't have. Why are we not discussing what we can do to make the next generation better than the average, or better than us? How do we become obsessed with making our people better?

Leadership

As leaders, we must clearly articulate our vision and values, ensuring our strategies are aligned. It's about demonstrating a readiness to face challenges head-on, providing a clear direction, and energizing our teams with a vision for the future. When leaders exhibit optimism, it inspires the next generation to aim higher.

Goal Setting

It's imperative to set really good goals for our people. Then, hold them accountable for those goals. Goals can help your team plan, track, and get better at what they do. And remember, this isn't about doing more; it's about doing better.

Stretch yourself and your team to be above average by setting strategic yet realistic goals. Letting go can be challenging, but if you set goals to hand off projects, you can create steps to make it possible.

Teach & Mentor

I commonly hear that partners can't find the people to leverage the work to or that they don't have the skills. Yet when I push about when those people learned the skills, it's often followed by a story of said partner being mentored and taught by a predecessor early in their career. We have gotten so busy that we don't take the time to teach and motivate our staff. We need to make time to prepare our team for the difficult assignments. This is how we make our people better.

Conclusion

Taking good people and making them exceptional doesn't happen accidentally. Only a small percentage of the world has the drive and determination of Taylor Swift or Sahith Theegala. Our ability to embrace change, innovate, and accept the differences of the next generation while still motivating them to perform at a high level is our job as leaders. Remember, this isn't just about our team being better; we must be motivated to be better leaders.

If I can help you or your firm with change management feel free to reach out to me gary@thomsonconsulting.com