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Fighting the Gravitational Pull of Positional Leadership
A little on leadership? Many people enter the leadership world through a position and a title, but we must understand that just owning a title doesn't make you a leader. Being a leader is about influence. Your ability to lead resides in your ability to influence others around you to accomplish organizational objectives. It's true that titles do initially command a certain amount of influence, but this influence is short lived. All a title buys you is time, nothing more, nothing less. This time can either increase your level of influence and lead, or diminish it and fail. One of the most common mistakes of a Leader, both new and tenured, is to fall into the gravitational pull of positional leadership. I use the term gravitational because as a new leader, it's pull represents the path of least resistance in the absence of training or experience. Many will learn, and escape, but others will remain committed to this methodology, unwilling to resist the pull through the belief that the approach is effective and is not to be challenged. I suggest that this approach is fundamentally flawed based on my own experience and evolution as a leader. I made this mistake, and I took this journey, but I learned and was able to fight the pull. Whether you are positional, work for someone who is positional, or someone to whom a positional person reports to, commit deep thought to this topic. Properly understood, it will lead to your success; disregarded, it could lead struggle and hardship. My story? Before I had the opportunity to lead, I had the obligation to follow. As a follower within my organization, I viewed the leadership team, as the end all be all of positions. I viewed them as the powerful, core team of cogs that forced the business machine to function. I watched how they dressed, and admired the spoils of the position: nice offices, sophisticated two-way Skytel Pagers (before they became mainstream), expensive looking attaché bags concealing distressed leather planners concealing an arsenal of Mont Blanc's, but most of all, I enjoyed the parting of the crowd as this larger than life team moved through our production areas. Many felt respect, many felt fear, and many envied what they saw. It's clear which category I fit into. I envied the position, title, and what those two items represented. I was fundamentally flawed in my admiration of these positionally anchored symbols of status. Only through a promotion and a lesson or two in life and leadership did I finally understand the errors of my ways. I worked hard, and stood out above the crowd. My hard work paid off, and upon my first promotion to a senior position, I received my Skytel pager and master key. I'll never forget the day. I had my position, title, and symbols of power. I knew I had arrived. My mistakes? But as a positional leader, by belief system was challenged by the fact that my results were not always desirable. As a positional leader, I assumed my position guaranteed a form of "packaged" loyalty, ensuring commitment and dedication from my subordinates. As John Maxwell stated in "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership", "He that leadeth and has no followers is merely taking a walk." One day while out leading I looked back, after giving a command or two, and realized that I was only taking a walk. I also believed that as the chief, each member of my team was there to help me accomplish my objectives. My vision was to sit atop the metaphorical mountain dispensing my wisdom and wishes out upon the eager people who wished nothing more than to execute the plans, which they had no involvement in creating. One day while dispensing my wisdom to my people, I noticed I was alone. It seemed that I needed to get down off my mountain, and go find my people. I thought as the leader, it was my job to rise above my people in the traditional way's in which I had seen my "mentors" do before. I did not approach my team in a constructive format. I did not believe in mutual solutions and problem solving, but rather with harsh decisive accountability. I can't tell you how many sups heard the mention of accountability, but never sincerely heard me ask how I could help. Since I was clearly the one in charge, (I had my title, master key, and pager to prove it) I was afraid to admit when I was wrong or did not know an answer. I believed that to admit I did not know, was to admit that I wasn't the leader. I thought that asking for help lowered my status on the totem pole of importance and that if I wasn't careful, I would resemble those "people" that I tried to tower above. As a result, I made many mistakes that could have been avoided. An old boss once told me that if you try to fake an answer, the crowd would see right through you. I did not care as long as they could see my pager. I believed that position dictated response, and title was not to be argued with. As a result, when department heads handed down orders or harsh misguided words for members of my team, I did not defend my people or clarify misunderstandings. My answer to the department heads was by usually agreeing that an action or response was unacceptable, and reassures them that I would address it with my team. I did not work for my own people, so as a result, they did not work as hard for me. My team saw me as not defending them, and as a result, did not view me as their leader. My team needed me, and I simply did not realize that. Now fast-forward a year. Even though I was positionally oriented, I saw great results through hard line tactics and accountability. Actually, we broke company and client records, but the problem was that I could not sustain the success. Slowly, after time, our results faded along with my influence. I did not use my time to increase my influence so it withered. As performance slowly eroded on the program, corporate "Smoke Jumpers" descended up the site to determine barriers to performance, evaluate staff, and create a solutions oriented approach for improvement. During one of these meetings my team was questioned on what they thought the problem was. This was their opportunity to give back some of the heat that I had been giving them for years. While the failure of the program was due to any single person, when they had audience to hear their concerns, they did not exactly sing my praises. At this point, I learned what it meant to be positional, and realized that I fit the textbook definition. I realized that no matter our level of success, it could have been better. As for relationships, I realized if I was on fire on the production floor, I would get little assistance to put out the flames, although there would have probably been a crowd watching the warm glow has my career went up in flames. That unit eventually closed and I was transferred to another segment within the same location. In this new position, I reflected, learned my mistakes, and was thankful to still be employed. I had a chance to start over with a new team, and work diligently at avoiding my prior habits, and mistakes. I fought the pull of being a positional leader and survived. Of course I made mistakes with my new team as well, but I'll save that story for another time. If you feel the pull, resist at all cost. Remember, your position buys you time, nothing more, and nothing less, and time is running out! If you are interest in leadership theory and practices then you need to visit: http://www.righttolead.com. Aubie Pouncey is a contributing writer and thinker for our organization. In addition, as a leader you may be interested in http://www.myleadershipsuccess.com
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Coaching Women in Leadership - How to Get Promoted It is often much harder for women to get promoted than men. The most common characteristic of successful women is that they know how to express their excellence in a male dominated environment. How do they do it? Mr. Shoaffs Simple Strategies to Success (Excerpted from the Jim Rohn Sampler single CD) Leaders Click It? Into Gear! "Click It" Into Gear! Leadership Is Action?Not Position! People respond to good leadership! Period! It is in all aspects of our lives, not just business. A mother is a leader in her home; a son may be leader of a team sport or a daughter the leader of the debate team. A group relies on the person in charge to actually lead them to success. A true leader is highly ethical, honest and respected. Ten Qualities Of A Great Leader - Plus 1 Great Leaders are optimists first and foremost. Their tendency is to interact according to Henry Ford's observation, "whether you think you can or think you can't - you are right." Because the buck must stop somewhere and because the dynamic of authority dictates that all delegated authorities are themselves subject to authority, they understand that being a leader is far more than a title. The ten qualities listed herein are based on these assumptions and are just the beginning of developing the character of a great leader. Here's to a great beginning! Your Ultimate Leadership Feedback Loop: Their Leadership Life on our planet flourishes through feedback. If life forms don't develop feedback loops and get good information about how well they are interacting with their world, the world eventually kills them. Steps to Becoming a Good Leader STEPS TO BECOMING A GOOD LEADER: 1. Develop a master plan. What are your goals? What are the organization's goals? How are you going to reach them? 2. Develop a leadership style. To manage people, you need to know how you are going to do it. Be comfortable with the leadership style you choose, and it will lead to future success. 3. Know the risks. Making any decision has its risks. Know the risks involved and whether the organization can afford to take them. 4. Get the authority you need. You need authority to achieve goals. If you don't have enough, get assertive. Tell your superiors you need more authority to make decisions. 5. Be decisive. Don't get caught saying, "Let me get back to you." Consult staff, but you make the decisions. 6. Be firm. If you believe in your decisions, then stick to them. However, be open to suggestions and be flexible. Leadership Training Seminar - What Makes A Great Leader? At one point or another, we have all been either a leader or a follower. While both roles are equally important, a leader plays an instrumental role in providing direction for his/her followers. A good way to identify an effective leader is to see if his/her followers are able to support and accomplish what their leader is asking of their team. Boy Scouts of America and Leadership Coaching The Center for Management and Organization Effectiveness talks with Dennis St. Jean, Assistant Director Professional Development Division, Boy Scouts of America, Irving, Texas. Effective Leaders are (#1) Conceptual SEE INTO THE FUTURE CREATIVELY AND PRACTICALITY: Planning day-to-day is obviously important, but a good leader must be able to see the long-range picture, to know the history of the organization and have a sense of the direction in which it is traveling. Effective leaders always have the long-range picture in mind as they plan laterally. Develop a We Focus And Not a Me Focus ____________________________________________ Leadership Push vs. Pull? At your next staff meeting consider leading your team through the following discussion. Evil, Hostile Grumpy Listeners? Think Again I hated Kyle Sisk*. A notorious bully, Kyle punctuated my grade school years with misery. He would tease me about my weight, purposely rattle me with shocking language, delight in making me look foolish at every opportunity. Kyle had scary, penetrating eyes and sharp, jagged teeth that looked, appropriately, like fangs. He even had his own evil henchman named Eddie who would follow him everywhere, laughing a conspiratorial little laugh asking, "Heh, heh, what are we going to do next, Kyle? Heh, heh." (All Eddie was missing was a hump.) A typical encounter was the time I was walking home from school and Kyle and Eddie pounced from behind some bushes, grabbed my books and threw them in the mud. Even worse, they snatched my precious, brand new little purse and threw it into the branches of a tree, far out of reach. They then ran off cackling in triumph. I, purseless, limped home in tears. The Code of the Conference Leader Are your meetings generally a waste of time? Do you have trouble getting commitment on the decisions made? The following information is based on "Conference Leadership", an atypical Marine Corps publication that is no longer available to the public (as it has been incorporated into a sensitive and restricted document.)The publication details a method of achieving results from groups and meetings that was far ahead of its time, originally published in 1947. Veins of "stewardship," "dialogue" and "servant leadership" can be seen throughout, though not by those names. From Failure To Victory; The Cats Out Of The Bag! Did you ever think that all of the great heroes we read about may not have been particularly great men in and of themselves? They may not have been born with any great skills, talents or abilities. But, each of them did have one special quality that we would all do well to cultivate. The Leadership Talk As A Living Hologram The hologram is a three-dimensional photograph made on a flat surface with laser beams. The Four Laws Of Leadership (Part One) Leadership is motivational or it's stumbling in the dark. After all, isn't it more effective to have people want to go from point A to point B instead of to be ordered to go from A to B? Trust - The Most Vital Component in Leadership "Trust is the emotional glue that binds followers and leaders together." Two Vital Abilities Any Leader Must Have As a business owner, you are a leader whether you like it or not. Whether you like it or not you have to guide your group in order to expand your organization. And whether you like it or not, there are some difficult situations that you have to confront and handle -- hopefully in a way that inspires confidence in you from your staff. Asking for Help For many of us, asking for help is a difficult concept. It can require a certain amount of vulnerability. We may feel as if we are admitting a weakness that the world would not have known about, had we not asked for help.
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