You got your Tag team of Superheroes that shares common Values, you’ve set the Goal, you’ve got The Most Valuable Product to sell. Now what?
You pass the ball to the team and watch the game.
Pass the ball
I want to be a leader. Leadership cannot be assigned, it only can be earned. How do you earn your leadership? Here is how John C. Maxwell
Here is my favorite leadership proverb: “He who thinks he leads, but has no followers, is only taking a walk.” If you can’t influence others, they won’t follow you. And if they won’t follow, you’re not a leader. That the Law of Influence. No matter what anybody else tells you, remember that leadership is influence - nothing more, nothing less.
So influence is the thing… how do you influence on your team members? You bark orders? You create their own space and let them realize themselves, while keeping in mind shared Values and striving to achieve common Goals. I liked how Tim Ferriss’ gives an example for it in his The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich book:
This intentional absence has enabled him to create a process-driven instead of founder-driven business. Limiting contact with managers forces the entrepreneur to develop operational rules that enable others to deal with problems themselves instead of calling for help.
When the game is over
How do you know that the game is over? The game is over is when the team does not need you any more. Here are the situations I witnessed:
- The team operates on its own, the team members become an Eagles, they just win the game time after time. They need another leadership or another leader to take them even further.
- You lost the game. How do you know you lost it? I like Collin Powell’s take:
Win the game
- Let them play, let them fail, let them win.
- Watch the game.
- Help the team members realize themselves - do not solve their problems, help them find the solution themselves.
- Know when to move in, move on, move out.
Are you winning the game?
10 comments ↓
Interesting, but I must admit this is one area where I can’t relate, because unlike you, I don’t strive to be a leader… I am happy to follow, as long as the leader deserves to be followed.
I completely agree that leadership is EARNED. You can’t make people respect you and follow you (at least not in the free world and in a democratic setting). You have to earn it.
I’ve had managers who that in name only & I’ve had managers who were genuine mentors. The difference is amazing. Armed with sufficient information to complete a task, I need little supervision, yet I’ve known managers who looked over my shoulder watching me write each line of code–in other words, they wouldn’t let me run with the ball. On the other hand, I’ve had managers who called the play, handed me the ball, then let me run. It is under this model not only that I thrive, but also the team wins.
My aspirations are similar to Vered’s, with a difference. I welcome the role of leadership, should it fall on my shoulders in one capacity or another. However, I have no aspirations for management. As I stated twice to the folks at my former day job, “The last thing this company needs is yet another untrained, unqualified manager”. Of course, they did not get the hint & even today the floors are littered with managers who aren’t worthy of the title. In an environment in which I couldn’t thrive, I moved on. I am blessed in finding an organization in which I CAN thrive.
I’m reading through a good book right now called ‘From Patent to Profit’ and it is very clear that I will need to be assembling a team. I’ll keep these tips in mind.
@Vered,
Here is how it relates to you. You are mom, right? You ARE your kids’ leader. I’ve adopted this thinking and i refactor what i learn with the team at work back to family and vice versa. My wife and I were doing this crazy mistake of guarding our child from any most simple mistake. Then we stopped, sometimes we let our daughters fall. They started to learn faster and they started appreciate our advice a bit more.
@Jimmy
I belong to the camp that believes management and leadership are two separate beasts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadership
You cannot deny this – you are a leader already. You are a leader by example. Recall that latest Gold thing… it is the recognition for your leadership. It is in your veins. You do not have formal team, but you have followers (virtual team?…), including truly yours. Read that quote by John C. Maxwell in the post… and see yourself in it.
@blogrdoc
Please share your insights on your blog with regards to the book once you are done with it! I am trying to build a team right now. It is tough…. But must tell you I’ve got another team before that, and I’ve applied these practices. The result was amazing. You must take my word for granted as I am not going to post here the quotes – they are too personal and they will stay this way.
In the book “The tipping point”, author talks about the connectors, the mavens and the salesmen. I believe that leader is one who is a connector, the maven as well as the salesmen.
Connector - He is to know lots of people who can listen to him or advice him. If he is not influential, he may not get many connections.
Maven - He has to research and know the ins and out of his field otherwise no one will ask questions as Collins Powell said.
Salesmen - He has to sale “influence” as my friend Alik said.
Shilpan
I read somewhere that there are many sources from which a leader can derive their power: if they’re given a position of authority they derive power from that position (you’re given a certain post with a title such as “supervisor” or “manager”); if they have a lot of knowledge in a certain area that knowledge gives them power; if other people respect them they derive power from that respect; and so on. Basically, the more sources you have from which to derive your power, the more effective you’ll be as a leader. I think leadership is a facinating topic.
Oh, and I read “The Tipping Point” (the book Shilpan mentions), and it’s excellent (in case you haven’t read it)
@Shilpan,
I am a big fan of The Tipping Point book. I like your surprising angle you call out here. I really do!
@Marelisa
Insightful comment indeed. I actually use the book’s ideas in practice. Check on how I apply it for blogging:
http://practicethis.com/2008/05/28/make-your-message-sticky-and-you-might-tip/
there are few more books that you might find interesting here:
http://practicethis.com/must-read-books/
thanks
alikl
Interesting point about kids. I do tend to be overprotective, and I have to agree that while it’s my instincts telling me to do so, it is not necessarily the best leadership AND not necessarily in my kids’ best interest.
Yep, you can’t win games for your team. Watching the game is a key element–but it’s got to be active watching, not passive watching. As you watch them work and learn, it’s important to decode the “why” behind what’s happening so that they can grow.
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