If you're a fan of the Ted Lasso TV series, you know the "Barbecue Sauce" scene in the pub when Ted defeats Rupert in a high stakes game of darts, while quoting Walt Whitman on the importance of curiosity.
Turns out that JP Morgan CEO and Chairman, Jamie Dimon, is a big fan of curiosity as well.
In his How Leaders Lead podcast interview, hosted by David Novak, here are a few highlights from Jamie's response to the question of what makes a leader:
What makes a great leader is heart and curiosity.
According to Jamie, "Heart means you give a damn, and it makes you authentic. You're not trying to be perfect...You try to do the right thing. You're not trying to be right. You're the first person to say 'I made a mistake,' and the first person to share credit. Not the first person to blame the other person."
Curiosity means always trying to understand what you can do better.
Jamie believes, "Curiosity means you're always learning, and there's a humility to curiosity." He called to task senior executives who don't want to go on the road to gain a first-hand understanding of their company's operations, noting, "They don't want to hear about mistakes they may be making or what they can do better, especially from someone who is junior to them."
The combination of heart and curiosity, and giving a damn, is why people want to work for you.
By some coincidence, that's the same leadership formula Ted Lasso applied to turn his failing soccer team around.