The answer to the question, "Are you a leader," can be answered in many different ways. A lot of people have differing opinions about what being a leader is. Look up leadership books and see all the various books on the subject. You can talk to leaders, and they will surely give you their advice on leadership. But what is the correct measure of leadership?
I first want to talk about a few things that leaders are not! The biggest thing I have discovered about different leaders and what I try to achieve is that it is about the people you serve, not about you. Too often, people get put in a leadership position because they may know how to manage a P&L, run production, or just get a job done. Being a leader is much more than accomplishing things.
Many leaders immediately get this better-than-thou attitude from being made a manager. Thinking that you are better than the people you work with goes against the people you serve statements I made. A true leader is finding ways to help their people in any way they can. Leadership is about making others better just by working with them. If you think you are better, you will never help others grow; you are too focused on making yourself better and not them. You want to be able to promote people and have them step up and do a better job than you. If you drop dead tomorrow, they will have you replaced in a matter of weeks, so forget about how important you are and focus on how important others are; they are the ones who will replace you.
Leading by example is a significant factor in being a true leader. You can do things your way and expect others to do something different. Act the way you want your people to act. Think about your young children who try to do everything you do. They will follow your improper example if you don't set the proper example. One thing that has always frustrated me is when a boss is never willing to do the work someone else should do. I am not saying you should always do their jobs, but when a job needs to be done, step in and help.
Leading also affects our personal lives. Do you have a work-life balance? Do you take time for your family? Do you take care of your health? What impression or example are you presenting? Working 12 hours a day and never making time for your family is not suitable for you or your family, and it is not an example of someone who should be leading others; we want our associates to be happy and enjoy time with their families. A true leader has built a team that gets things done, focuses on efficiency, and leaves work on time to ensure they enjoy their family.
Something that I have done over the years, and it does produce results: make sure your people are happy. A happy, cohesive team will deliver excellent results and make you look like an extraordinary leader. A leader doesn't need to be the smartest, hard-working, dedicated, and driven person on the team; they need to know how to build a team environment. Find the people who complement each other and who are better than you. Then, you must remove the roadblocks and allow them to grow and thrive as a team. But some leaders will say, "If I create this environment, then they won't need me." That is precisely what you want: build a team that can work without you, and then you will get promoted to help make the next team, and so on. Do you see that this is what propels your career? You are not a good leader without encouraging others or yourself to higher positions.
The last thing I want to leave you with is a big one and often one of the hardest for future leaders: TRUST. If you don't show trust in your people, you will not make it as a leader. You must teach and develop people, but at some point, you must trust them to step out independently. It's the same conversation you may have about your teenager; at some point, you must let go and give them room to fail, grow, and learn. You can't protect them forever, and if you are, are they pulling their weight on the team?
What kind of a leader do you want to be?
I recently stepped out of a leadership role and thought I might take a break from all of this. I took a role on a team that would give me more exposure to the coaching role. But this did not last long. I was in this new role and transitioned out of my old role, and within 45 days, I was asked to run the team I had just joined. When you are a true leader, people will recognize that ability. Right now, I am just learning about the new job, but the leadership part comes naturally at this point in life.
If you want to be a better leader, contact me, and I may be able to help.
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