The Leadership Edge: How to think, act and lead like a founder Leadership, like many skills, takes time and effort to master. And while some possess a natural flair for inspiring others, many find it more difficult to develop the skills required to support and nurture others.

Drew Povey, a renowned author and leading UK leadership expert, is on a mission to help founders unlock their full potential. In this insightful conversation with Entrepreneur UK, he reveals the secrets to gaining the Leadership Edge and shares invaluable tips on how to think, act, and lead like a true founder.

What makes a successful founder?
To start with, a founder needs to have a sense of realism. Bad stuff happens. A realistic founder knows that the clouds will come and you can be sure something will happen which knocks you back. But founders who achieve success are the ones who learn from misfortune and mistakes. We can talk easily about the fact that life has a way of knocking us to our knees. The easy answer to the question, 'what do you do when something knocks you off course' is often to simply say, 'dust yourself off and carry on.'

But I want to challenge that. This attitude is called resilience by some, but I call it stupidity. Einstein said the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. A quick 'get up and go again' response is a resilience of a sort, but for me it's not the most interesting part and it certainly doesn't help you solve the problem or help you move forward.

How can you turn a loss into a win?
Some of the most successful companies in the world faced a moment when they were losing the game. Both Starbucks and Apple were at those moments until a new leader came in and changed the way they did things. Whether it was how Schultz reimagined Starbucks or Jobs created iTunes, it was curiosity which allowed them to zoom out at the problems the companies were facing and do things differently. It's not an easy thing to do and the temptation might be to wallow in the unfairness of it. But just as we have black box recorders on aircraft, the leadership edge comes from delving into what happened, reflecting on why it happened and working out how you can learn from it.

How important is confidence?
Confidence is about overcoming imposter syndrome – a feeling of inadequacy that persists despite evidence of success. This sensation of chronic self doubt can be both undermining and isolating; both of which are detrimental to success. But courage helps us move forward, after a knock back and when things are going well. For me, courage is the catalyst for most things. It's a spark and a driving force. It's what makes things happen. It turns an idea into an action and allows a goal to be achievable. For those struggling with imposter syndrome, it is worth knowing that courage requires you, as a leader, to deeply understand yourself, your team and the landscape. If you feel unsure about any of those things, then you won't be acting with courage but blind faith.

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Is self doubt a weakness?
No. It can be a strength. It's natural to wonder how you measure up in a competitive environment. A bit of self-doubt can even be a healthy way to adapt. Our brain's number one goal is self preservation. Imposter syndrome can be looked at as the brain making sure we have all the boxes checked whenever we're in an uncomfortable or new setting. And it can also catalyse growth.

How important are others in the process?
A key factor is the team you have around you. The team dynamic is a huge topic but it is essential to the success of any organisation. You, as the founder, cannot manage people, you can only lead them. But people are essential to leadership because they are the raw 'tool' that organisations really work with. The successful leader turns a disparate group of people into a team. The difference is important; it's the change between a collection of individuals who just happen to be working in the same place to those who coordinate their efforts for a common goal.

Leadership is complicated but if we look at anybody that's done anything of significance, in the whole history of human endeavour, big or small, those people will have been curious. They will have wondered 'what about?' and been humble enough to accept they do not know everything. They will have been courageous. They might have been at the top and carried on being at the top. They might have had the courage to carry on in spite of what life has thrown at them. They knew courage was what gets things moving.

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