Being ready to lead means a willingness to pursue something greater than you. There is nothing significant, as far as the world is concerned, about “leaders” who embark on a journey for themselves.
True fulfillment in leadership is when what you do is others-focused. When our primary or only goal is to make ourselves happy as leaders, our accomplishments will be empty.
You are not ready to lead if you think that everything, as fart as your pursuits are about and for you. Nothing is more fulfilling than making a difference in the others’ lives.
Self-centered leaders tend to have high people turnovers. They have the least happy teams and are rarely high performance teams. Those who think everything is about them, tend to look to themselves for solutions. They become the single point of failure for teams and organizations they lead.
The only thing self-centeredness produces is inflated and, later severely bruised egos, with nothing significant accomplished.
On the other hand, leaders who understand they are only catalysts and enabler for something greater are more inclusive. This means they don’t look to themselves for accomplish everything. They are open about their weakness and know how to engage or enlist the help of others stronger than them.
Leaders who know that they are not the center of everything embrace humility. Humility makes leaders attractive. Humility makes leaders accessible. Accessible leaders tend to lead highly innovative teams.
Leaders who tend to think it’s all about them are stuck in all they know. They never rise above themselves. You see, it takes more than yourself to be greater leader.
Growing as a leader can never happen in isolation. You are not ready to learn until you’re open to learn from others.
The celebrated leaders are ones who put other people before them. Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Gandhi, and the list goes on.
You’re not ready to lead until you’re prepared to let what you do be more than just you.
Related:
Letting Go | You’re NOT Ready To Lead IF (Part 1)
Be bold. Be /ˈherətik/.
[Photo Credit: child is a rebel]