On Leadership

Leading is a tradition as old as humanity. Someone is always leading. But what makes a person a good, or better, a great leader?

I’ll get to that, but first I’d like to talk about some traits that make for bad leaders. Unfortunately, these traits tend to be present in a lot of everyday leaders. Turns out when you give folks a little power over one another, we have a real hard time being nice to each other.

Bad Leadership

Ego. A bad leader is controlled by their ego. They allow it to dictate how they lead. They take credit for successes, but blame others for failures. An ego driven leader always acts in their own best interest, the team is secondary.

Laziness. It’s easy to get into a position where you’re responsible for leading others and then expect them to pick up all the slack that you’ve left laying around since you’ve moved on. If you are a lazy leader it’s because you think you’ve moved up. But leading isn’t about your career growth.

Indifference. A lack of empathy for those you lead. It’s difficult to rally the troops when they know you don’t care about them.

Inflexible. What you say goes. Period. Point blank. This type of leader isn’t leading, they’re self destructing.

How can a person be a great leader? It’s not as simple as having traits that counteract the above, though that is a good start. There is more to it, but don’t worry, if you’re a bad leader today, there’s hope for you tomorrow!

Becoming a good leader

Where do you start? The first step is understanding that being great at anything requires practice and self-forgiveness. You’ll need to be optimistic and positive with yourself as much as you can muster, and you must openly practice your leadership skills constantly.

You will make mistakes and you will fall, however if you are making a true and honest effort, your team will recognize it and help you up.

Combating ego. This is the most difficult thing to accomplish. Ego is self, and we’re all a little bit selfish. It is a survival instinct, to protect oneself. Setting aside your ego in favor of the team you are leading is the best way to collaborate and find great solutions. This practice also helps you with all the other pitfalls of leadership. Ego is the core of why leaders go bad, the roots of the leadership tree. How you approach and reveal your ego determines whether that tree grows or dies.

Pitching in, rolling up your sleeves and staying as late as everyone else is a great way to prevent laziness from setting in. Remembering that you are not above the team, you are not in charge of the team, you are part of the team. At the end of the day you will make decisions and provide direction, but if you work side by side it shows them you are invested in the team and it’s future, not just your own career path.

Understanding other people exist and that they have their own set of problems, egos, and lives will go a very long way towards strengthening the team from within. Show your team you care about their feelings, opinions and ideas. Give credit where it’s due. Share the successes and failures of your team, together. Either your all standing on the podium, or your all under the bus together.

Telling people what to do is easy. Too easy. Show folks that you’re willing to do the real work it takes to be a great leader. Show people, teach them how to work better together, mentor junior team members and let everyone use your wisdom, experience, and strengths as their own. Great leaders lift others up and help them succeed.

At the end of the day the buck stops with you. That doesn’t make you special. What makes you special is how you treat others, and how well you work together towards your team’s shared vision, goals, and future.

Remember

Anything worth doing takes hard work and practice. Practice leadership like you would anything else, and you’ll be great in no time.