Leading Next is rooted in belief: belief that the work matters beyond this quarter; belief that the people on your team are worth developing, even when the payoff is years away. Photo: eastrise.com.
John Eades believes there are two important qualities of leadership, and the best leaders manage to combine them to produce memorable results.
Stepping into the role, every leader has to learn fast: Don’t deliver results now, and there won’t be a later to worry about.
This is described as Leading Now, when focusing on the present, delivering short-term results, becomes priority one. That instinct isn’t wrong — but it’s incomplete.
I was reminded of this at a recent reunion party for my former company. It had changed ownership and merged with a couple of other, similar organisations a few times since.
Almost none of the people who were there 15 years ago still work for the combined company today. So, when more than 50 former employees flew and drove in from all over the country, I was stunned. This was a company that topped out at 70 global employees. That kind of turnout, for a business that size, doesn’t happen by accident.
Here’s what caught me off guard. Nobody talked about a winning deal. Nobody brought up a big month or quarter — and these were people who worked hard to deliver results while they were there.
What they talked about were the experiences — the memories of working through projects together; the bosses and colleagues who shaped how they think about work today and the principles they carry with them. It was another great reminder that a leadership title is temporary, but the impact you have on people is lasting.
Most leaders get stuck choosing between two things that were never supposed to compete — deliver now, or build for what’s next. Most default to now, because now is what gets measured, reviewed, and rewarded. That’s Leading Now.
However, the leaders people fly across the country to reunite with 15 years later weren’t just hitting the numbers, they were doing something that most leaders never get around to. It’s what I call Leading Next.
Leading Now is grounded in the present. It’s execution, priorities, short-term goals, daily stand-ups, hitting the standard the business needs this quarter. However, it should also be feedback and recognition, telling people how today’s work measures up while it still matters.
Skip this last part, and you won’t be leading long enough for next to matter. Every leader who lasts works that part out quickly.
Leading Next is rooted in belief: belief that the work matters beyond this quarter; belief that the people on your team are worth developing, even when the payoff is years away.
It’s the vision, the mission, the culture people want to be part of. It’s asking who’s ready to lead after you’re gone, not just who delivered this quarter. This is the part most leaders never get to, because Leading Now already feels like enough.
Something happens when a leader manages to do both. Goals stop feeling like someone else’s number and start feeling shared; the short-term target and the long-term future both belong to the person doing the work.
Communication stretches to cover today and tomorrow, not just this week’s priorities. Accountability gets embraced instead of resented, because people can tell you’re asking for more out of care, not control.
Trust compounds and people get something rare: consistency they can actually count on. That’s what 50 former employees flew across the country for — not the quarter, the consistency.
The lesson is that the future of leadership is grounded in delivering short-term results, but rooted in providing long-term belief. Leading Now keeps you in the room. Leading Next is what people remember and want to be a part of.
So, here’s the question worth asking: When your name comes up 15 years from now, will people talk about the quarter you delivered, or how they were inspired by you to do the work that made it possible?
John Eades is the CEO of LearnLoft, a leadership development company. He is also the host of the Follow My Lead podcast. He can be contacted at johneades.com.
