After our third year taking the photos for all the honorees of Crain’s Chicago Business 40 Under 40, we’ve noticed some general traits they all seem to share. We get to work with thousands of people a year on a very personal level for a very significant project: getting great headshots and portraits they will be proud of, and that will give the world an accurate picture of who they are.
Which means we get to see who they really are at both their best and worst, because believe me, ALL of a person’s feelings, personalities, and behaviors come out when you point a big lens at them.
And these are the personality traits that all the 40 Under 40 leaders have in common:
They take their time. They never zoom into our studio rushed, in a tizzy, sweating over how much traffic they hit and the clothes they forgot to bring. They take their time when they walk. When they reach for their drink. And especially when they talk. They think through things before they speak and consider what their message is, who their audience is, and how to craft their message so the other person will understand them. They have a calm presence that isn’t slow, but considered. If they’re late, they apologize once, and then are considerate of our time and the ways they can make up for their tardiness by saving time elsewhere in the process.
They are joyful and grateful. Our conversations with great leaders in the studio are filled with optimism. Even when the discussion topic goes to something negative, they find a silver lining to point out, or a way they feel empowered to change things for the better. Conversations with leaders who leave you feeling assured and encouraged give us so much energy!
They are confident but not cocky. Maybe this is especially true of Chicago and the Midwest, but we tend to value humility over confidence, and great leaders in Chicago business tend to find a way to keep those humble Midwestern roots while still exuding certainty and poise. I see it as a scale. At the bottom is self-depreciation (“oh, I’m surprised they picked me, I’m actually a total bonehead”), then comes humble (“I’m surprised they picked me”), then comes confident (“I’m honored they picked me”), and at the top is cocky (“it’s about time they picked me, damnit.”). The best leaders sit comfortably in the humble to confident section.
They lead by connection. As photographers working on a project for a client, we tend to either be treated as the trusted expert and teammate, or as a mindless dolt of a basic rank and file vendor (super tip: we hate this). Bad leaders will lead with fear. They present as cocky, overimportant, and use fear-based tactics to get people to do what they want. Good leaders lead by connection. They connect with their photographer as a teammate and see everyone they work with as their equal and work with them for a shared goal.
They are curious. The best leaders that have been in our studio seek to understand everything. The process, what we do, who we are both personally and professionally, and how everything around them works. They ask questions and truly listen to the answers and apply what they learn from one area of their day to another.
As professional photographers in our 21st year in business, we’ve met and photographed everyone from the boiler room crew in the basement of the skyrise to the women in the corner offices, to the Governor. The above traits are the traits we can spot in the first 10 seconds of meeting someone and only find them in the most successful leaders. Congrats again to this year’s class of Crain’s 40 Under 40; I can’t wait to see what’s next for all of you!
