The Price of Greatness as a Leader
Ria Story, Leadership Speaker, Author, Trainer
Climb The Ladder of Influence? and Become the Leader You are Destined to Be.? | Author of 15 Books | Keynote Speaker | TEDx Speaker | Leadership Trainer | Survivor Advocate
Years ago, I was struggling with two particular team members who didn't get along. Actually if I'm being quite transparent, "didn't get along" doesn't accurately portray the situation.
They downright hated one another.
But, I didn't know that. And I, being slightly naive at the time, put them to work together in the same office. One office with two desks. Naturally, problems began to occur. The environment was toxic. They would barely speak to one another. And when they did, it wasn't pleasant. One team member went to lunch one day and the other one rearranged the office to get the better "spot" by the window. I was struggling to get them to be civil, much less be a high performance team. Teamwork was non-existent.
I tried everything. We volunteered at the food bank. We did "team building" exercises. We had regular meetings where I brought treats. We went to lunch together. None of it changed the situation though. I needed to get them to grow as individuals in order to get them to grow together. And, I didn't know how.
Then I learned something: growth is a process. And, when I implemented the process of growth in our department - these two team members started growing along one another. In other words, they started growing, together, and then grew together. That taught me another important lesson: the leader must take responsibility for leading (influencing).
Winston Churchill said it well, "The price of greatness is responsibility."
Being a leader, whether you are a formal leader, the boss, or a parent, comes with responsibilities. Most of us understand this on a broad level – to be a leader means to be a role model, set an example, etc. But, what does it really mean to be responsible or to take responsibility as a leader?
Taking responsibility as a leader means accepting responsibility for developing your own character and then helping someone else develop theirs. As a leader and/or parent, spouse, co-worker, friend, etc., your first responsibility is to others. This is the foundation for influence. This means leadership of others starts with leadership of self. You can’t lead anyone else at a high level if you aren’t able to lead yourself well first because you can’t give someone what you don’t have.
Leadership isn’t something you do. It’s something you are. And, it starts inside you. We all have influence on some level, with some people. If we want to increase our influence to a higher level, impact more people, and create a greater legacy in the lives of others, we must start by accepting the responsibility for striving to be better ourselves. We must work to develop leadership qualities within ourselves first. And then, we take responsibility for helping others develop too.
领英推荐
Facilitating book studies is the number one best, and most effective way to help organizational team members grow. This process helps improve culture, break down silos, create teamwork, and helps individuals unleash their potential.
?Growth is a process. And, it takes time. But you know what's more difficult than making growth a priority and developing your team?
Not doing so.
Keep climbing!
Looking for resources to develop yourself or your team members?
Learn more about our online leadership development video training courses here : https://bluecollarleadership.com/academy
Learn more about programs and resources: https://riastory.com/leadershiptraining/