Our experiences over the last decade, specifically transitioning from the military into the corporate world, have given me and David Neal a unique perspective on characterizing leadership. One of the questions we hear the most is, "Am I ready for leadership?" Well, you're the only one who can answer this. Are you ready for leadership? How do you know? One of the signs you are ready for a leadership role is understanding and preparing for the challenges ahead. It isn't just a matter of stepping up to the plate. You have to be ready to swing.
Am I Ready for Leadership?
Asking the question is the first step, but not the last. In a nutshell, you'll know you are ready for leadership when:
- You can give great feedback. Anyone can tell someone about their horrible performance. It takes a leader to look at that performance from an objective standpoint. Offering serious, analytical feedback that's also positive is an art. You must be constructive, while still providing accurate assessment and direction to help them along their career journey. If you often offer fellow teammates advice or constructive direction, and those teammates not only find it helpful but grab that productivity baton as if the starting pistol was just fired — congratulations. That's a sign you are ready for leadership.
- You're calm, decisive, and can say no when the situation calls for it. Do your superiors and teammates often tell you how well you perform under pressure? Or maybe they give you compliments on how your decision-making skills seem to sharpen the crazier things get? These abilities are definitely prerequisites and good signs you are ready for leadership. Knowing when to say no to favors and additional projects when you honestly don't have the time is an art.
- Your team likes you. If you're well-liked, you are ready for leadership. The idea that leaders have to be rough, crass, and overly demanding to maintain control is simply not true. And how many movies have proven this? Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) in The Devil Wears Prada or John Milton (Al Pacino) in The Devil's Advocate — sensing a trend here? If you're not well-liked, you don't stand much chance of leading the team.
- You hold your team in high esteem — but you also hold them accountable. From the moment you assume a leadership role, you also assume responsibility for every teammate who reports to you. You are ready for leadership if you share in their mistakes as much as their successes. Working and growing together is now on your shoulders, and that is probably the most important aspect of what it means to be a leader.
If this sounds doable to you, you might be ready to take that step into a leadership position. If you're still not sure, here are some more questions to help you assess your leadership readiness.
Are You Ready for Constant Growing Pains?
Leadership isn't a "nine-to-five" job. It requires constant evolution to remain relevant. The leader you were when you began the journey isn't the leader you should be today. The lessons from failure and success shape your leadership style and effectiveness. When you shift roles, projects, and teams, the dynamic and the personalities change. Therefore, your approach must change. Can you adapt? You need to be able to constantly evolve.
Are You Ready to Take the Hits?
Poor leadership blames others for mediocre performance or unmotivated teams. Subject matter experts may be involved in planning and preparation, and tech experts may execute the practical and technical delivery, but the leader owns the outcome. As a leader, you need to accept responsibility for the performance of your team and provide a means to isolate them from unnecessary business friction and white noise so they can do their best work.
Are You Ready to Abandon Self-Interest?
Your co-workers are more important than you. If you genuinely care about your people, open yourself up to professional feedback on your performance from them. After all, they will influence your projects when you're not present. By building rapport and loyalty, your team will protect your interests (aka, the team's interests). For example, strong leaders fight for raises for their staff, not themselves. The team's outputs will determine whether a leader is deserving of progression. Never take for granted those who surged, stayed late, and put their own needs aside to deliver on a goal that ultimately reflects favorably on you.
Are You Ready To Be 100% Accountable?
Team decisions are your decisions. Own them and deliver the outcomes. If something fails, it is your failure. Learn from it, and evolve. You may benefit from the team’s success in the long term, but your personal recognition cannot be your primary focus.
So…Are You Ready for Leadership?
These are our observations, and in no way are they a sequenced road map to succeeding. That is your responsibility as a leader to find and shape. David and I are passionate about leadership and investing in teams. We believe that people make a team, and teams make an organization. If you have answered "no" to many of the above questions, then leadership may not be a good fit for you. In that case, you have three options:
- Make way for management to find a better leader.
- Become a better leader.
- Choose and mentor a better leader.
A useful explanation can be found in this article on change management. On the other hand, if you have evaluated yourself honestly, believe you have what it takes to be an accountable and respectful leader for your team, and you are ready for leadership, then we want to help. We believe that a good leader can lead anyone, and knows how to be led. The Eighth Mile offers leadership courses and an 8-week personal development leadership program. To learn more, contact us today.
