Understanding The Leader’s Journey

Leadership is in all of us. All we need to do is unlock our potential.

Today’s post is by Mark Rapier, author of The Leader With A Thousand Faces (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

Leadership is a fascinating topic for many. One aspect of leadership often overlooked is that it is a process. How we lead changes as we progress in our careers and join new organizations. We are all on a leadership journey. Understanding how to navigate the voyage is essential.

Preparing for the Journey

To take a good trip, you need an itinerary. There are three key things to understand to make your journey meaningful and rewarding. The first is to recognize the difference between leadership and management. Managers direct activities to achieve measurable results. Leaders motivate people not just to achieve results but to inspire them to want to achieve those results and more. There are many types of leaders, and learning how to recognize them is essential. Perhaps the most important are informal leaders: they are not team captains but locker room leaders. You can learn so much from them after you find them. Lastly, you have to recognize and ignore myths. One of the greatest is that “leaders are born not made.” Anyone can be an effective leader if they are willing to do the work.

Learning Through Observation

The journey begins with learning. Formal learning provides a solid foundation for leadership growth. The most important education some from closely watching leaders in different situations. Paying close attention to what works and what does not is what gives you perspective. Two essential factors are Competence and Communications. To be an effective leader, you must be good at what you do. To be a financial leader, you have to understand accounting and finance. You also have to be able to translate facts and figures into something actionable. This is where communications come into play. You have to be able to help people understand. Building shared understanding allows you to rally people to a call to action.

Putting Learning Into Action

Opportunities will come in many forms. Early in your career, they will likely be in the form of leading projects or programs. Your managers will evaluate your performance to estimate your leadership potential. As you grow, the programs will get larger and more complex. There are times when we have to respond to a crisis. A crisis demands immediate action. Our response will determine whether, in the long term, we will be enhanced or harmed by the event. When we change jobs, we are often asked to change the trajectory of the organization we are joining. Turning these situations around requires us to change the mindset of the team. In addition to analysis and action, effective coaching is needed to change behaviors. Occasionally we are presented with the opportunity to create something entirely new. Visionary leadership requires the ability to inspire others to walk away from what has worked before and do something completely different.

Maintaining Momentum

For most of our careers we operate in a steady state mode. When things appear calm, there is a temptation to turn on the autopilot. Many vital activities require focus during the regular day-to-day. We must work to develop the next generation of leaders. There need to be people ready to take over when we decide to move on to our next journey. More importantly, many people have helped us along the way, and we need to pay that debt forward. To lead, we must be able to follow. We receive direction from others that we must translate into objectives for others. We must have empathy for those on our team. To help others grow and succeed, we have to be able to follow their journey while we are on ours. We must also plan for our future opportunities. Opportunities come mostly to those who make them happen.

Evaluating Your Journey

Our journey to leadership is forever repeating. Through both self-evaluation, trusted advisors, and coaches, we must constantly learn from our experiences and the experience of others. We must constantly push ourselves to expand our horizons and set expectations for ourselves. We must develop a strong moral compass to prepare for our next leadership adventure.

Mark Rapier is the Managing Director of The Rapier Group LLC. His book, The Leader With A Thousand Faces, (CLICK HERE to get your copy) describes the leadership journey we all experience and gives perspectives to consider before you find yourself needing the answers.

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