Leadership isn’t about being in charge. A True leader submits themselves to the needs, abilities, and potential of others. However, when you focus solely on yourself and your career growth, true leadership becomes out of reach. Here are a few warning signs of how you may be getting in your way of becoming an effective leader:
You don’t know what is happening with the people around you. You are so concerned with yourself that you miss important events in your team members' lives. You cannot effectively lead a team of people you do not know. Take a few minutes and have a conversation not related to work. Ask how their weekend was. You don’t have to learn their life story, but you should know if one of your team members has a child graduating high school this month. If you rarely consider what others are going through, you're missing the foundation of leadership – empathy. Ask questions. Believe it or not, they show you care. New Flash: People become more interesting as you learn more about them. Who knew!?
You find more interest in what others think about you than how you can help them. A lack of curiosity indicates selfishness. No one wants to work for a selfish leader. Because if they have your back and you have your back then who has theirs You limit your potential when you do not have a sincere investment in your team. To look at it more selfishly, how do you effectively enable your team to meet goals – that you are measured on – if you don’t know them well enough to understand their areas of strengths and weaknesses? If you can’t sustain genuine interest in other people – including those ideas that have nothing to do with you – then you haven’t yet earned the right to lead. If you're the star of your show, you're not leading.
You cannot see the forest for your trees. How can one effectively manage a team of individuals when they cannot see past their weaknesses and limitations? Your areas of opportunity enable your team to step in and “keep the ball rolling”. Apathy and powerlessness block the path to realizing your influence and that of your team. If the thought of presenting in meetings frightens you, but you have a Toastmasters expert on your team, let them present the project. Don’t be afraid of not always having the spotlight. Show your strengths by utilizing your team to their full capacity. You can in turn teach the Toastmasters’ expert how to be seen without saying a word. Stop updating your catalog of imperfections. A loud inner critic can be a major distraction from practicing effective leadership. Evict the thoughts of “less than” – spinning negative stories about you inside your head.
You are the leader. So, you have to be the best. Wrong! The purpose of the team is to meet common goals and excel collectively. If you are threatened by others’ abilities, then it’s time to rethink why you want to be in this role. (The salary and title on your resume are not enough.) It’s time to transfer that negative energy and empower your team. Leadership requires you to be in touch with your ability to influence your surroundings. It asks you to know your power so you can introduce other people to theirs. But if you’re not feeling it, for whatever reason, then you won’t be able to pull this off. Leaders must be intentional about distributing power and decision rights, and then take total responsibility for the outcome. As you empower your team to make judgment calls, your job is to make sure they get it right – that their choices reflect the vision, values, and strategy of the organization. The people you have around you can become your greatest assets. Not just as a leader, but in life. If your primary response to other people’s capabilities is to feel worse about yourself then you probably need a time-out from the leadership path to redefine what leadership means to you. Again, the answer is not an increase in salary or the career progression on your resume.
You’re pessimistic about the future. Leaders believe in a better tomorrow. If that's a stretch, reassess your desire to become a leader. Leadership is built on the assumption that tomorrow can be better than today. If you have a hard time buying into such a romantic idea, if you dismiss it along with rainbows and unicorns, then it’s time to try your hand at something else. Despair is the opposite of leadership. When you regularly practice leadership, the world is a pretty magical place filled with progress and human potential to be unleashed. It’s a red flag if it’s been a while since you’ve felt a sense of wonder at the unlimited possibilities around you.
If you identify with any of these traits, it’s time to shift focus from self to service, fostering others' growth and success. Of course, there are things that can impact performance that have nothing to do with you, externalities that may be outside your control, but leadership, at its core, isn’t about you. It’s about unleashing the magic in other people. An effective leader empowers others with their presence – ensuring that impact continues into their absence. As a leader, it is your job to create the conditions for the people around you to become increasingly effective, and to help them fully realize their capacity and power. Not only when you’re in the trenches with them, but also when you are not around or permanently moved on from the team.
To be clear, if you saw yourself anywhere on that list, it doesn’t disqualify you from leadership. It all comes down to your ability to create conditions where other people can perform. Most people can relate to at least a few of them. We’ve all become stars of our own show at some point. But it doesn’t mean you cannot improve as a leader. Start thinking more about how to empower other people. If you are curious about your leadership impact, reflect on a recent team experience. Did your presence enhance performance? If not, what could you have done, big or small, to improve
your team’s performance? Leadership is about making it less about you and more about them. This shift might be challenging, but the rewards of true leadership – enabling others and achieving collective goals – are immense.
About Sherrika
With over 15 years in corporate accounting within PE-backed and privately held organizations, Sherrika Sanders established Transform the GAAP (Goals Assigned Achieving Purpose) to leverage her knowledge and experience as an accomplished corporate accountant to develop accounting teams and high-performing women accountants, equipping them with the essential skills required to excel in any professional setting and advance their careers from stagnation to strategic growth. She helps realign accountants with who they are (values), how they show up (beliefs), and how to thrive in any professional setting (promotion) as they advance in corporate America. Sherrika was once in this same predicament and learned how to use her voice to get respect, recognition, and pay increases that aligned with her promotions. She wants to help other accountants do the same. Sherrika holds a Bachelor's in Accounting, an MBA, and a Master's in Organizational Leadership.
Sherrika's passion is to equip accounting professionals with the skills necessary to thrive in any setting. Visit https://www.transformthegaap.com/ to learn more.
The Transform Tuesdays newsletter was created to help professionals navigate the world of corporate America by overcoming the hurdles hindering them from growing to the next level in their careers, including knowing their value, using their voice, and being authentic to themselves.
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