Chapter 5
Trust your compass
Reading is not enough. The journey of a thousand miles begins the moment you take action. So does the journey of a leader.
“It's okay to be human.”
— The Leadership Journey
This last chapter is short on theory and long on practice. Curiosity, micro-habits, connection — three quiet things that, repeated, become a way of leading. The four chapters before this one were the map. This one is the compass — and you only learn to trust a compass by walking with it.
The art of leadership
The art of leadership is finding your own path, taking risks and being willing to make mistakes. It is the courage to take action, and the humility to learn from failure. You don't become a great leader by attending workshops or reading management books; those are inputs. The output is a journey of self-discovery and self-improvement that requires practice, patience and perseverance.
The key is not perfection. It's being open to feedback and continuously improving. There is never a right or wrong way to lead — only your own balance to find.
Curiosity over certainty
Curiosity is what keeps the journey going past the first uncomfortable feedback. It treats every outcome — wanted or not — as data, not verdict. The leaders who keep learning are the leaders who keep being interested.
Micro-habits — small steps, real change
Big changes break under their own weight. Micro-habits are small enough to keep on the days you don't feel like it — which are the only days that matter. Five minutes of reflection. One feed-forward conversation a week. One nemawashi coffee before each big meeting. One Hourglass check-in before a hard call.
Stack the small things; the compounding does the work.
Connect — open your heart, reach out
Leadership is, in the end, a relational practice. Connection is what makes any of the tools in this book actually work. The Japanese phrase that opens the book — Kokoro wo hiraki, te wo sashinoberu— translates as "open your heart, reach out to others". That is the compass.
"The journey never truly ends. Keep moving forward and trust your compass."
Reflection
Take this into your week.
- →What is the smallest next action I can take this week?
- →What micro-habit, repeated for a quarter, would change me most?
- →Whom have I not yet reached out to — and why?
- →What would I do differently if I genuinely trusted my compass?
- →What story do I want to be told about the leader I became?
Inside TOP Academy
Reading the book is the trailhead. The Academy is what walks the journey with you — a cohort, a coach, real-life cases, and the kind of follow-through that turns 'I should' into 'I did'. Most leaders never make the leap. The ones who do never go back.
The Leadership Essentials programme has run with 350+ leaders across Europe and Asia — blending the book's models with peer coaching, real-life cases, and follow-through that sticks.
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