After reading the post that shared some of Jack Welch’s leadership tips from his book, WINNING, Heather from Southern California asked if one could develop leaders without having first been a leader.
Now, the seemingly obvious response is “no,” right? After all, how can one teach someone to do something that one has not themselves done?
Well, actually, it happens quite frequently.
In sports, the champion coaches were not necessarily the champion athletes. (Famed boxing trainer Angelo Dundee was himself only an average fighter but trained – among others – Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard. He was considered by many to be the top trainer in the sport for 50 years.)
In education, the best teachers were not necessarily the most gifted students.
In sales, the top sales managers were not necessarily the highest-producing salespeople.
How can this be? Because often, those most gifted are so naturally great and talented they simply do not have the empathy and/or patience to effectively work with and develop the greater percentage of those who are not already at an extremely high level. Not to mention (though, I guess that’s exactly what I’m doing) 🙂 the “naturally gifted” often don’t even know what they are doing that makes them so great.
Meanwhile, those who had to work harder to accomplish even much less than the natural stars are often much more in tune with what works, can transfer that knowledge to others, are able to help those at all levels build upon their strengths and thus are very successful as coaches and teachers.
However, does that same concept hold with leaders, whether the leader of a huge corporation, network marketing organization, etc.? Or, are we talking “apples and oranges?”
In other words, is business leadership an entirely different game? In order to develop leaders in this context, must the person had to have first been a successful leader himself or herself?
I’d love to know what you think.
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Beautifully stated question – and a big “hello” to Heather from Southern California :-). So much depends on how we define leadership. To lead a company requires that a person have a certain amount of business experience and acumen as well as the ability to lead people and develop leadership in his or her followers. Leadership can come from position or title but it can also come from respect and desire to emulate and please. I think it is important to differentiate between leaders of companies and leaders of people. If I am going to recommend someone for a leadership POSITION I want to see that they have relevant experience, but many leaders of companies are developed by leaders of people who have never held a leadership position. Leadership, like many other abilities, starts with the mindset. As you note here, great performers don’t always have the ability to teach or coach and many times it is because they do not have the mindset of developing others. A leader, on the other hand, by definition develops other leaders – they just don’t always have to do that based on their position. Mother and fathers develop leaders, seasoned professionals lead by example and develop other leaders in the process. Leadership can be developed in anyone, by anyone, regardless of position.
Some additional thoughts are in an article posted in Small Business Monthly: ttp://www.sbmon.com/Management/tabid/128/itemid/486/Default.aspx
I agree wholeheartedly with this, Bob. I do think that everyone has some leadership ability within them, but sometimes we lose our way or let barriers hold us back. I think it’s all about learning how to communicate and connect with people, finding one’s strengths, as well as duplication.
Hey Bob, great topic. But i truly believe in being a pull up leader, rather than a push up leader. A do it first leader. A leader that if he can do it, you can too. I guess it all depends on the person itself. You gave me something to really talk about. But i guarantee you it has to do with the person rather than the concept 🙂
The leader isn’t always the big winner and seldom the bossy one. The leader has knowledge and the generous ability to share it, inspiring the next generation of winners to do what needs to be done. Some of those winners will be leaders, some will be only winners. I wouldn’t turn down a winner spot, but I’d rather be a leader.
Great topic. I really do think it depends on what kind of leadership we are talking about. I’m sure we’ve all worked for organizations where management teams lack fundamental leadership skills. These people are a leader in title only. When people hear the word, “Leader”, one usually conjures a mental image of a strong, independent, courageous and charismatic person, like Pierre Trudeau, or a Platoon Leader, or a VP or CEO of a company. I believe any leader can show others to be leaders if they choose to. Metaphorically speaking, in servant leadership, it is about picking up your “kids” and putting them on your shoulders and letting them pick the apples off the trees. It is not just showing them how to pick the apples, or picking the apples for them, instead, you “lift them up” and let them do it on their own. It’s about empowering people to be the best they can be. The “I’m here to serve you” part of servant leadership doesn’t mean you’re a door mat, it just means that with your heart, you wish for them to stand on your shoulders and grow. And I think that anyone can do that, even if they don’t consider themselves a leader in the traditionally sense.
Logically, only a leader can develop other leaders, because doing so IS leading.
I think its confusing, because unlike in the examples Bob used (which compare managing and coaching to doing), in leadership, the act is one and the same.
I can teach you to fish without ever casting a line. But I can’t teach you to teach without teaching.
Assume you had someone who was a horrid leader. Could this person develop other leaders?
I say “No bloody way.”
So my gut and head both say you can’t develop a great leader unless you are one.
A great question to start the week off!
In all my days of working with leaders, thinking I was a leader, thinking I was NOT a leader (and every possible combination of that), my definition of a leader is “Someone who’s passion for getting somewhere is infectious.” )And I make a distinction between that and a “coach” who is often paid to hold their students accountable.)
A frustration of mine is that I’ve always been pretty clever. Clever enough to figure things out on my own. It’s fun when you can do that, but ultimately there’s an expense–usually time. By using my own talents I’ve gotten myself into “leadership” roles, but I often find it difficult to pass that along to anyone else. I make the assumption that people will have the same natural curiosity as I do, and that’s usually not the case.
A great opposing example is my mother — who would simply find others and teach them to do the things she needed to have done. It felt very abrupt and abrasive at first, but you have to admit, after a while, these people (including me as one of her children!) would realize they’d been given the gift of a new talent or skill.
It’s always exciting to see a new “Gift” from Bob@burg.com in my mailbox. You see, Bob is not only extremely intelligent, but I know that it is he who is writing the blog, not someone else. Furthermore, when a new gift from Bob arrives, it always stretches my thinking, which helps me grow! All signs of a Great Leader!
Anyone can be a leader!
“Leaders aren’t born they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal.” – Vince Lombardi
In business, a person can be placed in a leadership position, but if that person is lacking in any of the skills, his/ her effectiveness will be limited, I am speaking from first-hand experience. It will be just a matter of time before that leader looses followers, thus is no longer a leader.
In life, many of the same rules apply as they do with a business leader but they are very different animals. There is far more (or at least a different kind of) love shared with the followers in life. For example, a parent is a leader to his/ her children, driven by love.
I guess I look at the word LEAD as an acronym; L.E.A.D.
L – Is for “Listen”, and it is the first letter for a reason. By far; listening is the most important skill that people in leadership positions need to possess. But listening is much more than hearing what is said. Unfortunately, listening is the most underutilized and misunderstood skill in a leader’s toolbox. As the saying goes; “God gave you two ears for a reason”. Think about it.
E – Is for “Explain”. Try this little exercise: Read this statement out loud: “I didn’t say you were stupid.” Now, repeat it with placing the emphasis on a different word, see how it changes the meaning? Go ahead, play around…it can be pretty funny. Explaining anything can be very difficult to do effectively if you haven’t sharpened your listening skills.
A – Is for “Adjust”. A leader must be able to identify when a course correction is going to be needed. Very seldom is any plan going to follow the predetermined map of execution. A leader needs to see this and adjust the course accordingly, or be prepared for severe carnage. Listening to your followers and explaining clearly what the desired outcome is will make any needed adjusting much easier to implement.
“I am a man of fixed and unbending principles, the first of which is to be flexible at all times.” – Everett Dirksen
D – Is for “Doing”. A leader must be a person of action!
“Good leaders must first become good servants.”– Robert Greenleaf.
Doing so shows commitment, courage, and believability. Note, I did not say succeeding as Bob stated in the blog! Just look at the great examples he gave us; coaches, teachers and salespeople.
“You do not lead by hitting people over the head – that’s assault, not leadership.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
Yes, anyone can be a leader! But to be a good one, first learn to follow then learn to L.E.A.D.!
Thinking of the old adage, ” some are born leaders, others have it thrust upon them,” I’m personally of the ilk that most of the most effective leaders are in place where and when events present them the opportunity to be a great leader. Some are groomed for the position, but most are probably not.
Nobody argues that Winston Churchill was a great leader during WWII, but he dissolved into obscurity within a few years of the wars ending (other than speaking tours and books). Likewise, Lee Iacoca was a great leader at Chrysler in the 80’s, but then managed to triple the refurbishment budget for the Statue of Liberty (okay, it is still nice, but i believe the estimate was that you could have built 9 of them from scratch for what the redo ended up costing).
I think Gill’s point misses the mark. A leader does not have to be a teacher. People learn from the actions of a leader without said leader having any input at all. Putting it in the context of Bob’s question, a leader is someone that is doing what it takes to reach a goal. Once the goal is attained, more importantly along the way, that person becomes a leader and others will start to emulate them. Yes, afterwords they can write a book or teach a class, but most never will. And in the event that they are not in position to reach for another goal, neither you, I, or anyone else will care in time.
In context of my earlier years as a paramedic, I was a leader, 30 minutes at a time, ten times a day. When I showed up, make no mistake, I was in charge and I was the leader. I made no effort to teach anyone anything, I did what had to be done in order to reach my goal – get them to the hospital 1. alive and 2. in better shape than when I met them. But others did learn from my actions, co-workers and people on the street as well. I could say to someone; Hand! Here! Hold!, no explanations and certainly not to teach, but to attain my goal.
Business is no different where a leader is concerned. The businessman may have a goal to sell 10,000 widgets and they will do what is necessary to accomplish that – that may be knocking on 10,000 doors, or it may be training 50 people to sell 200 each (hand-here-hold), and poof, they are a leader. Yes, some of those 50 may take their experiences and learn to be a great leader, but most will not. Then there will also be people out there that are presented with the means, opportunity and desire to sell 10,000 more widgets, and when they do, people will call them a leader.
Thanks for the post on this subject, Bob, and to all of you have contributed so much in the way of discussion. I just read all of these posts out loud to one of my friends who is also a student of leadership, and is a great leader herself.
There are a few points which leapt out of the posts to me. One is Gil’s point of, to paraphrase, in order to teach to teach, you’re teaching. No matter how you slice it, that’s correct, given the person doing the teaching is passing along the correct information with the right intention.
Another comment, from Jo about leaders which made my mind jump is, “Someone whose passion for getting somewhere is infectious”. Does anyone want to follow someone whose destination or journey is not compelling? It would not seem so, and this felt like such a simply elegant definition of leadership.
Dixie makes a good point of differentiating between leaders of people and leaders of companies. Those are different skill sets which someone must possess in order to be effective. Business acumen does not necessarily convey a leadership ability among people.
Recently, when looking at a particular person’s leadership skill, I’ve been asking myself the question, “Would I follow this person into battle, and entrust my life to them and their decisions?” Now I’m not a soldier so this is more of a rhetorical question for me. However, I’m asking the ultimate question here, because it’s a quick way for my mind to make a decision, and to do a quick “gut check”. I’m applying some part of the practice which Malcolm Gladwell wrote about in his book, “Blink” in these instances and a more conscious decision-making process as well.
I look forward to more discussion, questions and answers on the subject. Thanks Bob for bringing the subject to light and to you all for your posts!
The Doctor just made another house call!
Great post Mr. Man! OK……I have some very strong beliefs on this.
Anyone can be a leader. Here is what it takes:…
1. Integrity.
2. Honesty
3. Responsibility
4. Empathy
5. Real concern for the well-being of others
When I meet someone who has these traits, I’m ready to follow them to the moon and back.
I agree with Joe… what a great “gift” to contemplate from Bob! Thanks, Bob for sharing such a great post.
Very interesting comments from everyone. It makes sense to agree with Gill that only a leader can develop other leaders. That was my first thought. Then, I wondered — what about a soul who doesn’t have personal exposure to other leaders — but pursues learning on his/her own? As Joe said, leaders aren’t born, they are made. But I’d like to toss out a question — wouldn’t it be possible for a person to truly be “born” a leader? If the soul lives beyond this time, couldn’t a child be a “natural-born” leader?
In studying some quotes about leaders, I came across this one by Harold Geneen, “Leadership can not really be taught. It can only be learned.” So — although I believe we all benefit and accelerate our leadership skills by learning from leaders, I also believe that it’s possible for a wise soul to blossom into a leader through self-study… How did someone like Abraham Lincoln develop his leadership skills? Wasn’t it primarily on his own?
I just want to say thank you to all of you for your comments and for the terrific exchange of ideas you all provided!!
Great topic and AWESOME comments! I really do think it depends on what kind of leadership we are talking about. I’m sure we’ve all worked for organizations where management teams lack fundamental leadership skills. These people are a leader in title only. When people hear the word, “Leader”, one usually conjures a mental image of a strong, independent, courageous and charismatic person, like Pierre Trudeau, or a Platoon Leader, or a VP or CEO of a company. I believe any leader can show others to be leaders if they choose to. Metaphorically speaking, in servant leadership, it is about picking up your “kids” and putting them on your shoulders and letting them pick the apples off the trees. It is not just showing them how to pick the apples, or picking the apples for them, instead, you “lift them up” and let them do it on their own. It’s about empowering people to be the best they can be. The “I’m here to serve you” part of servant leadership doesn’t mean you’re a door mat, it just means that with your heart, you wish for them to stand on your shoulders and grow. And I think that anyone can do that, even if they don’t consider themselves a leader in the traditionally sense.
Many good points about what leadership is … integrity, empathy, honesty… and what leadership is not… “Someone who’s passion for getting somewhere is infectious.” Hitler’s passions were infectious.
A good resource for learning more about leadership: Leader to Leader Institute http://www.leadertoleader.org. Also, “Lincoln on Leadership” by Donald Phillips provides a valuable guide.