Leader Or Follower

It’s hard to distinguish the leaders from the followers these days.  So many leaders are playing it safe, holding themselves, their teams and their organizations back because they choose to follow instead of lead.  

Leadership is about taking risks, seeing opportunities others don’t see, unleashing your passion, being entrepreneurial, working with a generous purpose and strengthening the promise of a better workplace culture.   It is concerning when leaders focus more on their titles and positions of authority – rather than acting upon the responsibilities and duties they get paid for and doing what their employees expect and need from them.

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We don’t always get what we want in life or work.  That is why we need good leadership – to help solve problems and provide guidance, navigate unexpected circumstances, cultivate growth and overcome hardships.  Leaders are not hired to monitor situations, play it safe and keep quiet when things get complicated.

Leaders make bad decisions for many reasons – because they rely too much on past experiences, are addicted to corporate politics, mismanage resources, don’t see opportunity – but especially when they don’t trust themselves enough to lead and decide to follow.

To help you evaluate the strength of your company’s leadership team (or your own progress as a leader), take a moment to observe if any of the following five characteristics are evident.

1. Signs of Complacency

Real leaders have strong backbones and are not afraid to confront and solve problems.  They speak up and are courageous enough to tackle any tension points head-on.  They are respected as leaders because they are able to make the most of a bad situation and turn a negative unexpected outcome into a learning experience to help their teams grow and better compete.
Leaders that play it too safe have grown complacent.  They may not be aware of it yet – but their complacency is losing them respect, trust and loyalty from their employees as well as other leaders in the organization.

2. Risk Adverse

Playing it too safe is a sign that leaders are becoming risk adverse.  They would rather just sit back and follow the status quo.  They don’t speak up for what they stand for and only address their true points of view when they believe there will be no consequences.
Leaders must view risk as their best friend.    It’s a natural part of leadership and real leaders are confronted with it each day.   Great leaders make difficult decisions every day.  They know how to make 30 decisions in 30 minutes.

How many times has your gut told you to take action during times of adversity but you didn’t?  Instead, you waited for those around you to take the calculated risks that you were hesitant to take yourself?   If this sounds familiar, trouble awaits.

3. Not Original

Great leaders have their own distinct style and approach.  They are known for how well they manage their personal brand as a leader. They create original content and stand out from the crowd for being authentic.   They don’t focus on self-promotion but rather on the promotion of others.   They know the advantages of being original and not mimicking the often outdated leadership styles of their colleagues.
Leaders know how to instinctually lead and lift others to be better and they are original in how they go about it.  Followers are afraid to be original and thus become leaches and loafers throughout their careers.

Are you more of a supplier or a distributor of great leadership?   Do you supply great leadership that is original, trustworthy and authentic?   Or are you a distributor of someone else’s leadership content, ideas, style and approach?  Have you created your own distinction as a leader?

Being original is critically important for the sustainable success of a leader.   How do you measure your originality?  Though you can be both a supplier and a distributor of great leadership, set a goal to be a supplier – at least 70% of the time.

4. Don’t Share Their Momentum

You know a leader is a follower when they don’t share their momentum with others.   It’s obvious when someone is looking for recognition rather than respect. They focus more on getting the credit for an idea, strategy or approach – instead of sharing credit with their colleagues.  They have hidden agendas that are all about protecting their domain and perceived stature.

Great leaders share the harvest of their momentum with others.  Sharing begins with trust and trusting yourself is a critical success factor in anyone’s career.

The wise man knows he will forfeit his fortune if he does not trust himself.  Followers lose their momentum because they don’t share it and thus stay stuck in a self-serving process.
Real leaders understand the importance of having everyone’s best interests at heart.

5. Deflect Accountability

Leaders become followers when they deflect accountability.   This is probably one of the most obvious signs that it’s time for a leader to step down.   You know that your leader is becoming a follower when they spend more time keeping track of their excuses and blaming others for poor performance, rather than holding themselves accountable to help others perform better.   This is especially true when leaders are the ones at fault but don’t want to expose themselves to their corporate hierarchy – it’s easier to blame their subordinates.

Leadership is about protecting your employees and helping them be successful.   Employees deserve to be led by leaders who understand that success comes most to those who are surrounded by people who want their success to continue.  Great management boils down to accountability and this is something that must always be clearly evident as you serve in a leadership role.