Why is it that most people seem to shy away from any leadership position? When I asked around, I gathered these responses—it’s an added responsibility, they don’t want headaches, they are already busy as it is, they don’t have what it takes, and that leadership will simply complicate their lives.
And yet, someone has to take on that role. As John Maxwell puts it, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” And for those who are inclined to take on the challenge, it is best to know the true weight of leadership. Here are four things that you need to know about leadership.
You need to keep on learning
AS a leader, you need to learn at every turn. There is no single rule or technique in leading people, hence you must endeavor to become familiar with different kinds of behaviors and motivations, understand societal contexts, and appreciate generational and experiential biases. One of the keys to effective leadership is relevance. And one can only be relevant if he or she is abreast with what’s happening around him or her.
You need to keep growing
TO sustain leadership, one needs to continually grow. This means you need to keep leveling up. A misconception on leadership is that leaders are supposed to enjoy a lot of benefits. There may be perks attached to certain roles, however, genuine leadership is not about benefits, rather it’s about making sacrifices—so that you can become even more effective. Think of leadership as if it’s a traditional hot air balloon—in order for it to move up, you need to cut loose some of the sandbags.
It’s the same thing in growing as a leader, in order to move up and grow, you need to give up some of the things that prevents you from performing at your best. And in case you feel that you’re already at the top of your game, don’t worry, because even the best can still get better.
You need to keep on caring
Ultimately, leadership is not about you. It’s about the people that you lead. And since leadership is about people, it also means that it involves relating with people, hence leadership is all about relationship. And this is why you should keep on caring about why they do what they do.
Always remember that at the very core of your role is to lead them towards their goal. And the moment you stop caring about is also the moment that your leadership diminishes.
Besides, Theodore Roosevelt once said, “People don’t care about what you know until they know how much you care.” So go ahead and keep on caring!
You need to keep moving forward
AS a leader, you are tasked to navigate the team towards the goal. However, there are times when the team gets caught in a bind. During these trying moments, people are confused and may be looking for reasons to bailout. Your job is to find momentum and keep moving forward.
Bear in mind that “people do what people see.” And when they see their leader moving forward amidst the ruins, people will likewise march behind you.
Alexey Rola Cajilig is the President of ARCWAY Consultancy Inc., Executive Director of ARC DOCENDI, and the Executive Managing Director of EM-CORE Success Academy and EM-CORE Foundation Inc. He is a Sales Leadership Coach, Strategic Sales Operations Consultant, Christian Motivational Speaker, Human Ecologist and Author of The effective Seller. He is also the creator of ARCH Styles, a behavioral and personality assessment tool. If you have questions and suggestions, you may send an e-mail to salesleadershipcoachlex@gmail.com.