I couldn’t tell you how often I have heard that question. Yes, there are volumes of great and inspiring books on this topic and yes, I myself am guilty of having given somewhat long-winded answers to this question.
But there is a surprisingly simple answer to this How do I become a better leader question?
It is… “Lead more.”
For the vast majority of people, the question “better” is taking their mind away from the thickest rubber band that actually holds them back. It is not their skill, experience, position in the command chain, charisma or whatever they or others would say constrains them. It is simply the “not enough” that increasingly hurts their organization and their careers.
Our fast changing habitats nurture a need for purpose, direction, unity, trust, drive, courage and encouragement – in short, leadership. So you do not even have to push it on others. Amidst turbulence and change, leadership is hugely attractive (and rare).
What do people do when they do not lead? After years spent in the coaching and consulting profession, it is clear where to find the answer. The truth is found in your calendar. The truth is in your meeting agendas. The truth is in the people you surround yourself with and the conversations you're having with them. Day-work easily eats Future-work. Necessity easily trumps opportunity. Our calendars, agendas and conversations are cluttered with management activities and we often do not even realize how bad it is until we take an honest inventory or ask a trusted person to help us with it.
Illustration by Michael Hueter
Of course the issue is bigger than just you. Even if you are a CEO, it is systemic in a corporate world to drive plans, budgets, policies, processes, measures and controls to force a complex organization to do what it naturally does not do: function reliably and efficiently, day-by-day. In short, management. Is management bad? Some say so – but very, very few of these people have ever run a business at scale. The truer answer is that it is just not sufficient and this is increasingly so with the winds of change in your face.
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Only when we begin to see clearly the difference between management and leadership, do we stand a chance to turn 21st century threats into exciting opportunities. Here is the good news – leadership is infectious. One or two hours of exercising more leadership a week on your side is a lot, but it produces even more. Eventually many more people leading one or two more hours per week in their space add up to a viral force that will get you the results your team or organization very much wants and needs. It is possible. I have seen it come true.
Holger Rathgeber's is co-author of That’s Not How We Do It Here!: How Organizations Rise and Fall–and Can Rise Again.
