COATTAILS....creating them or riding them?

I ran into a friend this past week who discussed the topic of why so many people ride other's coattails, yet think they are leading the parade. After some discussion, we concluded that many more people wish to be seen as leaders than those who truly are capable of being leaders.

My career is a case in point on both sides. I started my working life at Ernst & Young. I was 100% riding on others coattails. Ernst & Young was changed exactly 0% by my being there. However, they provided 100% of the foundation for the rest of my career. Then again, I never took any credit for helping Ernst & Young out either. This became more complex as my career unfolded.

In my next role, my position and responsibilities morphed quite a bit over time. I went from a cog in the machine like at Ernst & Young to what ended up being the #2 position in the Company. A crucial lesson was learned about coattails then. I no doubt was riding on the owner's coattails. At the same time, many others were riding on mine. Typical, and not a bad thing. The lesson was when I left. Other than a few people, who I will always remember, as soon as I left, most jumped from my coattails to someone else's, and I was ignored, shunned, or forgotten.

The lesson? If you are truly leading someone who will make a difference and become a true leader themselves, they are not really riding on your coattails. They are following you because they believe in what you are doing, saying, and creating, but they are doing this through independent thought and action. These are the followers you want, not those that ride whatever coattail looks the most attractive at the time.

This brings me to the present day and two things that have unfolded in the past year or so. I left a company that I was CEO at, and I joined a Company where I was just one of the group that reports to the CEO. It gave me the gift of perspective. The company I left had a lot of trouble attracting CEO candidates back before I joined them. The company had a great name, culture, and service nature, but it had slowly but surely become smaller, less significant, and was just dying on the vine. Fortunately, it had a lot of great employees who were very talented, so after I joined, we were able to completely turn things around and become larger than we ever were, had more capital than we ever had, and a plan to keep things going. Funny thing is that when I left, the number of applicants to fill the role this time was unusually high. The lesson?

When times are tough, you find out who the real leaders are. When times are good, you find out all the people who want to think they are leaders, but they are just trying to jump on attractive coattails. By the way, this company will not be fooled by this in their final selection, of that I am sure.

How about the company I joined? I am riding on someone else's coattails completely. I knew that going in, but felt I could lead a new venture in a meaningful direction, so I could jump off those strong coattails and provide something of value back to that person. After all, if I am a true leader, I can only be comfortable riding someone's coattails for so long. How's that going? Too soon to tell unfortunately, but I can tell you that riding on someone else's coattails after not doing that for a long time is rather uncomfortable, unfulfilling, and makes me feel like I am not earning my keep.

The point? We all get help from others, and we should. That is how we grow. At the same time, it is sometimes hard to distinguish between those who are actually creating something, changing something for the better, and risking something meaningful, in order to move everyone forward. Too often, we see people jump on the bandwwagon when things are good, and disappear at the first sign of trouble. Value those who step up during the hard times. Value those that are following you out of independent thought, and who want to make their own mark. Better yet, value those who used to follow you, but have now moved alongside you, and in the future will break away from you.

General Norman Schwarzkopf said it best - a leader is not someone who leads a bunch of hungry men into the mess hall. It is the person who is able to get them to follow him to a place they would rather not be. Value those who are walking beside you, and behind you because they believe in what you believe. Try and not have too many folks just riding your coattails, and most of all, have the courage to spend as little time on someone else's coattails, as possible.

This from someone who has been riding someone else's coattails for about 9 months!