The Best Leadership Advice I've Ever Been Given

I recently watched a 1 minute clip from Simon Sinek on Instagram. If you are not familiar with his work or personality, let's just say we align on a lot when it comes to leadership. His optimistic bent is a direct reflection of how he lives his life and it is extremely contagious. Hence the incredible following and his popularity in the leadership space.

Before I comment on this clip, here it is so you can watch it!

As you can see he's knows what he's talking about and nearly every piece of knowledge he's passing along here is golden. However, I said "nearly every piece" for a reason. I want to draw your attention to the very end of the clip where he says:

"All the best leaders I've ever met, Study it [Leadership]."

It is true that most people find themselves in leadership positions without the proper training or time to understand how to become an effective leader. Sure there are people who are naturally great at leading people because of the life situations they've had to endure, but in my experience that is rare. In fact, I thought I was one of those "natural" leaders due to my drive and desire to be in a leadership position myself. I very quickly realized that I was not as natural as I suspected once I was promoted into a leadership role and it was extremely humbling. In fact, it was that moment that helped me become a legendary leader.

So what was it about that moment that helped open my eyes to what it took to actually lead other people. I can tell you it was NOT because I studied it. As Simon indicates above, his list of the "best leaders" are people who have studied it and while that is a brilliant thing to do, studying something doesn't always make you the best at it. I studied the heck out of chemistry in college, yet I'm the last person you want combining different elements from the periodic table to try and solve the worlds problems.

In that humbling moment, I was reminded that most successful leaders don't lead their people alone. The best leaders seek out others who have gone before them or are successful examples of quality leadership. The best leaders have a coach or a mentor to help support them through the tough conversations, encourage them through challenges, celebrate the wins, and provide continual and specific feedback to help them grow.

The irony in my story is that I was given the BEST leadership advice I was ever given by the very man who would go on to become my mentor and coach. He said:

You can never lead others effectively unless you have someone else leading you.

Essentially, he was telling me to seek out and hold on to the best leaders in your life. Let them pour knowledge of their successes and failures into you as a coach and mentor.

So that's what I did. He was my boss at the time so his guidance was easy to come by. But over the course of 3-4 years he poured his knowledge and experience of his successes and failures into me. It helped me to rapidly become a legendary leader and I avoided many of the failures new leaders experience. Now, that's not to say I didn't have my fair share of failed moments, because I did. And I think that he, as a mentor, let me figure things out on my own as well.

I can remember bringing some issues up to him expecting a solution but he'd promptly turn it around on me and ask what I'd do... Many times I'd respond with "I don't know." His response sticks with me today: "Choose to know." Essentially he was saying, you have the power and knowledge already to create your own solutions, you just have to take the time to think critically about what to do next.

All this to say, if you want to be a legendary leader and lead a legendary team, find someone to coach and mentor you.

Where can you find someone? chances are you are thinking about that person as you read this. However if you don't have someone you know or work for, there are plenty of reliable and brilliant coaches that do it for a living. In fact, I know a guy.

If you truly are looking for some quality mentorship and guidance as you journey through leadership, I would love to help. I'm so incredibly passionate about this topic, that I give your first coaching session with me for free. Even if you never speak to me again afterwards it's ok. If I've been able to help you in the tiniest of ways I know that it can make a profound impact on you and others. Reach out, comment, and follow for more!