Fear is one great deterrent to growth and effectiveness in leadership. You run or stop even when you shouldn’t.
Unfortunately, fear is one key driver for the actions done in management. Most management decisions are made in avoidance of risk rather than initiated under risk. While inherent in the word “lead” is the aspect of “risk”. There is no such thing as a “risk-free” or “risk-averse” leadership responsibility.
At a time/ period in my career when I was starting a new managerial role, I was getting advice on how to be a fearless leader, yet at the same time, I received the fear-filled advice above. Saying to me, “Always watch your back and cover your tracks.”
Lead coaching helps one recognize that Leadership is about vision and risk. It includes making the effort to continually go to the front of the team to show the way. It is, therefore, hard to walk in front of a group of people yet not expect someone (at one point or another) to kick you in the rear. In his book Leadership Gold - Lessons learnt from a lifetime of leading, John C. Maxwell has an excellent chapter titled, "When you get kicked in the rear, you know you're out in front".
Leading comes with the risk of a “kick” associated. It also comes with a reward. You can’t expect one without the other. As a lead coach, it has become a reality check for leaders when I’m able to put two almost opposite extremes on the same expectation (in one statement) – as a leader expect a reward and also expect a kick! Simon Sinek often states, "We have no problem with our leaders eating first because they are the first to take the hit."
While leading a team, having got the advice above to watch my back, I walked in anticipation of a fight... and what a fight it was! As a new leader, it was a real “dogfight” if ever I knew one. Lessons from that fight then help me today to coach managers to grow into the responsibility of leading. It helps a leader to know that they will win some, and lose some yet still create a winning team – a high-performance team. You must choose to lead the team, not to manage the team.
Lead coaching helps you sustain the stance of an eagle.
Leading, unlike management, is a contact sport. Expect to get kicked, take it in and don’t take hostages, just soar above it. Leaders serve best in a storm as they do it with a purpose, a vision and a determination to win!
If you are looking to grow in the practical aspects of leading that will take you from being a supervisor/ manager (“super-manager”) to leading, attach yourself – latch onto a coach. Let the coaching process help you grow eagle wings to fly, sharpen eagle eyes to see a clear vision and strong eagle muscles to grip the potential leaders around you who will enable you to grab the opportunities you need to grow the venture you are in.
Bill Gates is quoted several times to have said, “Everyone needs a coach”. Who is your coach? As a leader, it is imperative to have a coach as there is no such thing as a lone-ranger leader. Get connected today. Start the great flight that creates impact.
Albert Sabwa
Lead Coach
Catalyst Leadership Life Coaches
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