But if you want to grow, it’s a terrible way to lead. And it’s completely demotivating for the people around you to hear you say that.
Usually, the inability to do great things through others can be tied to a lack of clarity on your part as a leader.
If others aren’t doing their jobs well, there’s a good chance it’s because you never explained what success looks like.
There’s also a very good chance the definition of success you carry is 100 percent in your head; you’ve never written anything down. Or what you have written down is so general or vague it’s not helpful.
You can’t hold people accountable for something you never explained to them. Yet most leaders try anyway.
Clarity is a hallmark of great leadership. If your team isn’t measuring up, there’s a very good chance you haven’t been clear.
2. MY JOB WOULD BE PERFECT IF IT WASN’T FOR PEOPLE
Yes, leading people IS the most challenging aspect of leadership.
Typing, for example, is far easier than leading people. Hit the “j” key and the letter j appears on your screen.
If only people were that simple.
Ask someone to type ‘j’ and they might think you said ‘k’ or ‘a’ or they wonder if that was a capital letter or small letter. Or they might speculate why you want ‘j’ typed in the first place.
Leading people is going to tax you more than almost anything.
Leadership is difficult because leaders take people where they wouldn’t ordinarily go.
Think about that for a moment. That’s hard!
But please realize that as much as you joke that your job would be easy if it wasn’t for people, you wouldn’t have a job if there weren’t other people.
