Defining the Characteristics of those Who Come After Us
If you were to pull up dictionary.com, the definition of leadership is “a person who guides or directs a group”. Surely, this is straightforward, but for any of us who have experienced a bad leader this definition probably doesn’t suffice. So what makes a leader?
Leadership, at its core, is the ability to take responsibility for outcomes by creating clarity, alignment, and trust, so that others can do their best work. When a leader is given charge of a situation or team, they are asked to own the outcomes of both positive and negative circumstances. Leaders are depended upon to have a plan, navigate strategy, and provide direction. The best leaders are able to do so without creating chaos as a byproduct.
The qualities looked for in a strong leader make a long list. If describing the perfect leader, one might describe a person who is a clear communicator, calm under pressure, has readiness of a solution to any problem, acts as an advocate, listens well, and displays integrity, humility, fairness, decisiveness, sound judgment, emotional intelligence, credibility, and adaptability. Whew. If we’re honest, how many people do you know that check all of these boxes? Then ask yourself how many people in leadership roles do you know that check all of these boxes? Probably not as many as you’d like.
Many of these qualities can be produced by hard-earned experience, but many are also never taught outright. There are many reasons people pursue leadership. A lot of people who answer truly about why they have an interest in moving “up the ladder” have misguided notions about what leadership roles actually entail. They’re in it for the money, power, and status, and sometimes a perceived lighter workload. When asked about the desire for increased accountability for driving results and the (not only possible, but likely) headache of dealing with real people producing those results, fewer are interested. Why is that? It’s hard – really hard. The mental and emotional tolls of supporting real people trying to manage their own lives plus their workplace are extensive.
Sadly, the reality in many companies today is that training and development of leadership qualities isn’t something that’s thought of, budgeted for, or planned out. Our culture has commonly incentivized the desire to move up by rewarding more work for the same pay in the name of “experience”. People, on average, do not tend to pursue the development of critical leadership skills without a guarantee of reaping a better incentive for their investment. At the same time, from a hiring manager’s perspective, it’s easier to promote from within when you have knowledge of a person’s temperament and regular behavior than it is to take a risk on someone who’s not proven in the environment. Many find themselves in new roles because they’re good at their current job, and the next role requires that expertise. It also, though, requires skill in managing large-scope strategy, team motivation, and team accountability. Where do those skills come from unless you dig in and just do it? That’s where many also go astray.
Leadership qualities must be intentionally cultivated. The discipline it takes for a new leader to do this on their own is immense, and often the people we report to don’t have the time to deep dive into the formation of soft skills. What results from this can be the opposite of our list above, producing a “leader” (or simply a person in a position of authority) who exhibits many if not all of the following qualities:
- lives in a state of stress
- lashes out without being able to explain the frustration
- does not display ownership of negative results
- takes critical feedback to new duties from higher-ups poorly
- is overwhelmed with having to answer for people’s behavior and lack of results
- cannot identify where gaps in training have occurred
- avoids accountability conversations due to discomfort with conflict and/or not knowing what to say
- doesn’t have a means to keep high-performers engaged
- doesn’t have a strategy to develop talent
- is lonely
- generally dreads the workday
No one wants this. No one wants to have a direct report that falls into this category, no one wants to be in this category, and no one wants to work for someone who falls into this category. If left alone long enough, there are three outcomes.
- The person learns from mistakes, evolves, and does better. This person does have the base skills needed for the job and someone made the right call on noticing skills that had the potential to be developed. This is usually thanks to their leader who truly does take the time to invest in them, or by their own efforts of seeking out leadership content on their own that they take to heart.
- The person quits. This is a sad option, but it does happen. With no structural support for the burden of leadership, people burn out and get tired of the stress. This is especially true in environments where it seems like everything is a problem 100% of the time.
- Nothing happens. The person is left in their position with a lack of attention from their own leadership and teams are left to suffer.
Whether you recognize yourself in any of these boats, are just looking to sharpen your skills, are just starting out, or are just interested in my humble opinions, subscribe to TaylorTalksLeadership on Substack to get the content you need on how to navigate what can be the dynamic, challenging, and rewarding world of leadership.