Leaders Often Fear Being Replaced - Why That Is And Why They Should Actually Be Excited To Be Replaced

It's a common fear that many Leaders have.

The organizations we work in grow. New employees are brought in that show tremendous potential. Technologies change faster than we can comprehend.

Within that, Leaders worry that their organization will no longer need them or value them.

It's a legitimate concern for a variety of reasons.

The Legitimate Reasons That Leaders Fear Being Replaced

? Loss Of Identity

Often as we build our careers, we begin to put a lot of weight into the identity around our work.

The first thing most people say when they talk about themselves is what work they do. In our society it is normal to put work as a major component of our identity. Losing any part of our identity can be a challenge.

? Financial Concerns

Being placed as a leader tends to come with financial benefits.

Most people with changes in finances match their lives to their new financial success. The thought of losing their income could mean changes to how they are living. It's normal to not want to "go backwards" in how we live.

? Feeling Like A Failure

How far we have come in our work is viewed as a mark of success.

When we loose that mark, it can feel like we have failed. We are trained from youth to attempt to avoid failure. Many people have much of their self-worth tied into whether they succeed or fail.

? Loss Of Control

As someone in a leadership position, there is a certain amount of control that we have.

Losing control is something most people fear. We love to have our lives organized to a certain extent. When something is outside of our control, it can cause a lot of stress and fear which we like to avoid.

? Uncertain Future

When we don't have a plan for the future, uncertainty is bound to happen.

Questions start arising that we didn't think about before. What will happen to us and those we care about? Not having an answer can be very scary.

? Reputational Damage

Being a Leader has a certain reputation to it.

When there is a possibility of being replaced, it feels like we weren't able to live up to that reputation. We worry that if we are forced to interview for other positions, that we will be seen as incapable. It feels like it may be something we will be unable to overcome.

? Change Is Hard

It's a simple fact of life.

We have a hard time with any change. Even if we know it is inevitable, we try to reduce change as much as possible. It's actually something that is literally hardwired into how our psychophysiology is designed by nature.

Why Leaders Should Get REALLY Excited About Being Replaced

? New Opportunity

The ability to be replaced also means there are new opportunities for you.

Determining where the opportunities are is essential to become a better leader. Perhaps what could "replace" you could be a place to actually become better, or it could become an opportunity to prove yourself and move up, and it could even become an opportunity to move into something more worthy of your skills.

? Shape The Future

If you "could" be replaced, it means you haven't been replaced "yet" - which means you can still shape the future.

Seeing that potential to be replaced actually shows you are thinking ahead, which is a valuable Leadership skill! It allows you to actually lean into that and start asking, "If I see this as a potential change, what other changes can I see?" With this, you can make efforts to be a Leader in the changes.

? Expand Experience

The most important thing for a leader is not the skills, but the Experience they acquire over time.

Processes change, technologies change, businesses change. However, regardless of these changes, there will ALWAYS be tremendous value in experience. These changes you are seeing gives you an ability to really gain new Experience that can be tremendously valuable.

? Reduce Stress

One of the most challenging parts of being a Leader is that there tends to be a lot of stress.

When you see that you could be replaced, this can actually be an opportunity to offload the worst and most stressful parts of your work. This becomes better for you because you are allowing someone else to grow, and at the same time you can lean into the work you are best at and which you can get the best results doing. This can end up making you TOO valuable to let go of when you are able to REALLY lean into that work that gets results.

? Increase Creativity

A trademark of great Leadership is how much creativity they can bring into their work.

However, we often don't find enough time to actually BE creative, and we tend to be too reactive. Seeing the potential to be replaced can become an opportunity to actually become more creative in what you do in your work. That creativity can become an amazing asset.

? Change For Better

As a Leader, we tend to see WORST parts of our organizations.

If we could be replaced, you can turn this into an opportunity to be an asset and fight to improve conditions. If you get some of your time freed up by your potential replacement, you can lean more into making much needed improvements. These improvements will likely help the organization overall, and turn you into an even better leader.

? Improve Identity

We put a lot of power into our current identity, but we often forget about the identity we can BECOME.

In my research, I've discovered we have at least 10 identities in our lives. Of those, 9 have the ability to easily change and adapt in ways that can be beneficial to our psychophysiology. This is one of those opportunities to change our Identity in a way that we become who we WANT to be.

? Mark of True Leadership

The truth is that TRUE Leaders should ALWAYS be growing.

If you are in a position forever, you aren't really being a Leader. If we don't have a potential replacement, we are a stagnant part of an organization that will eventually fade into mediocrity. The only way to become LEGENDARY is to continuously grow into our Heroic Potential.

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