Jarrah Elliott-Moyle* says it is not enough just to want to be a leader, and those who covet the position for the wrong reasons are in for a rude shock.
What does it mean to be a leader?
There are a lot of unhelpful assumptions that can hold people back from ever reaching that goal.
I’ve worked with some amazing leaders in my time and I try my best to follow the lessons they taught me.
A big part of that means every day I do what I can to help those around me achieve their best.
When trying to help someone in their career, the first question I always ask is: “Where do you want to be in five years’ time?”
When someone says: “I want to be a leader”, the second question is: “Why?”
Here are some of the answers that told me that person wasn’t ready for leadership.
Because I want more control:
People assume leadership means more control.
More control over the work they’re doing, more control over what others do, more control over the output and quality of the team.
The truth is, the higher you get in an organisation the less control you have.
The most control you will ever have is when you’re sitting at the bottom rung of the ladder, closest to the operations of the organisation.
Your leaders can ask you to do something, but it’s up to you when you do it, how you do it, if you do it.
Leaders set the destination; they have to trust that others will find the best way to get there.
Leaders surround themselves with great people and give them the space to do what they do best.
Leaders recognise their teams have skills they don’t and have the courage to ask for advice on how best to achieve an outcome.
Because my boss is an idiot:
So what are you going to do when you’re their boss?
Worse still, what will you do when you have to lead five idiots or 50 or 50,000?
Some people think leadership is gaining membership into an exclusive club for geniuses.
It’s someone else, somewhere down the chain, who has to suffer all the idiots.
The truth is, leaders interact with challenging people above, below and all around them every day.
They don’t get the luxury of dismissing anyone as an idiot.
Leaders pride themselves on being able to get the best out of everyone.
A leader works to transform the lowest performing people into the highest performing achievers.
Thinking you should only work with the best of the best leads to only recruiting people in your own image and missing out on the value every person around you has to offer.
Because I’m sick of everyone else taking the credit:
People assume leadership will be their time in the sun.
They get to have all of the ideas, they’ll get covered in praise and glory as their vision is achieved.
I’m sorry to say leadership is a thankless job, no one is going to notice or care when you do a great job, but everyone will notice if your team stops achieving.
Leaders don’t have ideas, they don’t achieve things.
Leaders create the conditions that allow other people to have great ideas, to do great things.
Leaders are concerned with collective outcomes not personal achievement.
It doesn’t matter if you were the one who worked through the risks the team couldn’t see, or you were the one working till 1am every day for a month.
The team always takes the credit for achieving the outcome.
Leaders push others into the foreground so those people can take the credit, raise their profile and be recognised as the next generation of leadership.
Because there are a lot of problems to fix here:
Many assume that only people at the top have permission to fix problems in the workforce, particularly cultural problems.
Leaders don’t wait for permission, leaders don’t complain.
Leaders take personal responsibility to make things better.
It doesn’t matter to a leader if they don’t sit in the ‘right’ position in the hierarchy, or they don’t have the resources or influence they might need.
They work to fix the problem with what they have.
They lead by example, doing the work no one else wants to and inspiring others to join the fight.
Telling other people about problems is pointless if you’re not willing to actually do something about it.
You’ll create a workforce of grumblers, always dissatisfied with what other people are doing but never taking up the challenge to improve.
Because I’m doing all the work:
It’s a classic line of thinking lots of people in the workforce fall for.
I do things, my boss doesn’t do as much of the things I do, therefore my boss doesn’t do much work.
It’s weird how many people think their leaders do what they do, plus some extra stuff that they see like signing off on expenditure and rocking up at a meeting every now and then.
A leadership role is different and unfortunately the people who are great at the operational level aren’t always equipped to do it.
It’s different work, requires a different mindset, it demands constant reflection, self-awareness and self-development.
People with natural ability need to build their technical capability before they can do it well; people with great technical knowledge need practical experience before they can do it well.
* Jarrah Elliott-Moyle worked to protect Indigenous heritage during the Australian mining boom and believes change can only be achieved by understanding all sides of an issue, negotiation and cooperation. He can be contacted at [email protected].
This article first appeared on LinkedIn.
