Being a Leader is Never About You

As long as I can remember, I have always been approached by people who are seeking advice. People asking for mentoring even when I didn’t feel that I was the best option. Ironically, listening has been a challenge for me as I have had to make a conscious effort to listen to understand versus listing to reply.
 
As I started the next phase of my life’s journey, I realized that my purpose of Making an Impact in the lives of others starts with being open to help those in need… including myself. I started Serve2Lead as a reminder that Leadership is not a title and being of service to others is a tremendous way to create impact.
 
Putting together #LeadersLead as a forum where Leaders can be both Mentors and Mentees was a way I felt that we could create maximum impact as Leaders Grow Together. Because ultimately, every leader needs to grow. That journey cannot be traveled alone.
 
Leadership Isn’t About You
Whether we are looking at Social Styles™ or Situational Leadership™, I remind clients as well as peers that leadership is not about you as the leader. It’s easy to suggest that a client, peer or mentee should get outside their comfort zone, but how often are we following our own advice?
 
We also must flex our leadership style and practices away from where we are comfortable and where our own strengths lie. What does our team need? And specifically, what does the individual need for that specific activity or situation?  It is on us, as Leaders, to adapt and model the behavior we are hoping to instill in them.
 
When you are open to learning, open to growth, is when leaders can grow together.  That is what we are building in #LeadersLead. An environment where people are comfortable to discuss their experiences - both good and bad - in an effort to gain insight for themselves as well as help others work through their own challenges.
 
Our Next #LeadersLead
In our upcoming #LeadersLead session on Aug. 27th, we are talking about how we can influence other leaders – both those we work with and as well as those who are higher in the org chart. As part of our mission of Leaders Growing Together, we decided to help a leader out with a specific challenge they are facing.

The Challenge
Imagine being the subject matter expert that is given ownership of a task or project and when you execute at the level agreed upon, you get second guessed. Maybe not by your immediate manager but by another group of leaders, unrelated, but somehow has oversight. They desire a speedy and high-quality result, but don’t recognize the obstacles, extra steps, and confusion that they have added to the process by not truly empowering their teams.
 
Questions For the Arena:

1. How can we help other leaders (especially senior leaders) understand the importance of empowering those who do the work?
2. How can someone who recognizes a gap and possesses the knowledge and ability to help close that gap, do so without the repercussions of “Did you get approval to do that?”
   
3. If process improvement happens where the work is being done, how do you appropriately communicate to a senior leader “Things aren’t how they used to be, and this needs to change”? 

In the end, it seems we are in this world to build connections. What comes from those connections and the power of the connections is up to you. When #LeadersLead by being  intentional and vulnerable the show their commitment to have a positive impact on the lives of others. They are willing to Serve to Lead because it helps everyone Grow Together, Beyond Today.

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