What Patrick Lencioni Told Me About Responsibility-Centered Leaders

I interviewed Patrick Lencioni for the Leadership Lab podcast a few years ago. he has written several excellent leadership books, including the bestseller The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.?

Even though our talk was a while ago, I often think about what he shared, especially when I witness leaders struggling with motivation and consistency.

In our chat, we discussed why some leaders fail to reach their full potential. Lencioni believes it often comes down to why they choose to be leaders. He explained that there are two types of leaders: Reward-Centered and Responsibility-Centered.

Reward-Centered leaders are attracted to the benefits they get from being a leader. They view their position as a symbol of success and an opportunity to make the rules, enjoy some freedom, and gain benefits.

On the other hand, Responsibility-Centered leaders see leadership as a big and demanding job. They know they must do the most challenging tasks first. These tasks can include training new leaders, ensuring people are doing what they should be doing, having difficult talks, keeping people informed, and running good meetings. These tasks take a lot of time, energy, and commitment. As Lencioni said, they can't be avoided or faked.

No matter what type of leader you are now or hope to be, I encourage you to think about why you want to lead.

Are you ready to face the tough tasks for the right reasons?

If you realize after some deep thinking that your motives for leading aren't right, consider changing them or even deciding not to lead others.??

Being a leader can be one of the most rewarding and challenging things you'll ever do. Your success is marked by your willingness to dive into being a Responsibility-Centered leader.

A Few Questions to Consider

1. Do you view your leadership role mainly as a symbol of success or an opportunity to enjoy certain benefits? Or do you see it as a big responsibility that requires tackling tough tasks head-on?
2. How comfortable are you with handling the more challenging aspects of leadership, such as training new leaders, having difficult conversations, or keeping people informed regularly?
3. When you reflect on your motives for wanting to lead, do they align more with being Reward-Centered or Responsibility-Centered?
4. If you discovered that your motives for leading are not rooted in responsibility, would you be willing to change them or reconsider your role as a leader?

Encourage & Inspire Responsibility-Centered Leadership

One of my most asked-for keynotes is The 5 Practices of Impactful Leaders which is based on my book, The Wall Street Journal bestseller, The 5 Week Leadership Challenge.

In that talk, I challenge leaders to become students of themselves, reflect on why they lead, and assess their talents, inner voice, and passion. The session allows leaders to take a needed respite from doing their leadership role to embracing what it means to lead. Leaders leave inspired and ready to do more and be more.?

Are you looking to motivate, inspire, and encourage your leaders?

Reach out to my speaking agents, Michele Lucia and Canesha Appleton . We'd be honored to work with you and your leaders!

Make it a great day!

-Patrick

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