How do you tell if your milk went sour?
You sniff it.
It’s crude but surprisingly this is pretty accurate. Our noses and taste buds have evolved to be able to determine what smells can lead to pain. Thus we are able to avoid the milk that goes bad or the water that smells funny.
Our sense of detecting leaders isn’t quite perfect though. Historically we’ve made some horrible decisions with picking our leaders. So I’m going to propose a “sniff test” for detecting good leaders.
If you know someone who:
- makes others feel safe in their presence
- can be vulnerable and shares their flaws openly
- explains where they are going succinctly and honestly
then chances are they are a strong leader.
It’s not a bulletproof method, but neither is sniffing milk to know if it’s gone sour.
For the next time you’re in a pinch, do the “sniff test”.
A New Source Code 