Leadership is visible. Every leader has a bull’s-eye on him. This is because everybody is watching you and everything you’re doing. And, everyone seems to always know better than the leader. Leadership is not for sissies.
You cannot lead without courage and a level of deafness. People often more readily point out how leadership is failing or has failed but hardly stop to consider how they fail leadership.
Before you pass judgement or critique, consider how you are helping the demise of your leaders and the enterprise you serve in.
Don’t be quick to point out your leaders’ failure before considering how you are contributing to their failure (Click To Tweet)
Here are 3 Ways You Fail Those Who Lead You:
Goals
Leadership gives vision. Vision is foundation for goals. You fail your leadership when you prioritize your own goals over those set out by leadership. When you serve your own goals the enterprise you serve ceases to serve those it is supposed to and serves you.
This is selfish, to say the least. Goals set in line with the vision are an enabling force. Acting without them effectively cripples and undermines the efforts of any team or organisation.
Initiative
When you are not quick to see and or explore the possibilities that currently exist as a result of the organization’s present position, you fail your leadership.
Your present responsibilities could be creating greater opportunities for the enterprise you serve. When all you see are your present responsibilities and not the possibilities that may result as you fulfill them you fail your leaders.
On the same note, you fail your leadership when you see opportunities and do nothing at all about them. You do not act on them or highlight them to your colleagues, leadership and enterprise at large. You also fail your leadership when you only act when you are told to do so.
Follow
This is rather obvious but extremely important. You fail those that lead your team or organization when you do not follow them. You fail your leadership when you devalue your role or do not do it with care. Leadership is failed when those who follow have no respect for their work.
You will not agree with your team and your leadership all the time. In such times, you will fail your leadership when you decide not to follow through with a decision because you do not agree.
Unity is not synonymous with always the same perspective all the time. Having a different perspective to your leadership does not mean you cannot follow them.