By Joe Judge, Co-author — “Leadership is Overcoming the Natural: 52 Maxims to Move Beyond Instinct”
Contrary to conventional wisdom, effective leadership is not a result of inherent qualities, but rather a conscious choice. It is a journey of self-transformation, requiring individuals to step outside their comfort zones and evolve.
Leadership development begins by reimagining leadership
When we try to pin down effective leadership with words like influence and charisma, we box it in with definitions that are far too simple. The truth is that leadership qualities develop during a complex transformative process.
As a leader, you can begin to grow when you realize that no course, book, concept, or promotion will turn you into a true leader. This is because leadership is not natural — leadership involves making decisions to overcome the natural.
When we feel threatened, our natural response is to defend ourselves. When someone hurts our feelings, our knee-jerk reaction is to cut ties. Our gut tells us to take the easy path that lets us shy away from conflict, which is why we often take immediate offense when someone questions us. Instinct tells us to avoid people holding opposing views, and when someone gets under our skin, lashing out verbally makes us feel better.
All these reactions feel natural in the moment. However, when leaders respond in ways that feel natural, it can have devastating outcomes for the people and institutions under them.
To develop into great leaders, we must first recognize these negative tendencies that hold us back and harm the people around us. The goal of a leader is to rise above these traits and become a better person.
When we put time and effort into changing the way we respond, we undergo a real transformation. When we get past our instincts, we become capable of more admirable conduct. It takes a long time and a lot of practice, but this higher level of behavior can eventually become our “new natural.”
Effective leadership involves a decision to lead
The pivotal idea that leadership is a decision, not an innate trait or title granted by an organization, comes with profound implications. Choosing this path requires sacrifices and transformations that fundamentally alter a person’s life.
Far too few people appreciate the gravity of their choice to take on a leadership role. After making the choice, they will no longer be able to do whatever comes easily or naturally. They will need to re-evaluate their assumptions and be open to the possibility that they were wrong.
A leadership role is bound to stretch you in a number of ways, so make sure you are ready. First, ask yourself why you want to lead, and carefully examine your motivations. If your response is not something along the lines of “because I enjoy serving others, nurturing others’ growth, and assisting others in realizing their goals,” you may want to reconsider.
Being a leader isn’t about getting your way or enjoying a special rank. Tough decisions will cost you countless nights of tossing and turning. Your old anxieties and doubts will resurface, but you will need to persevere because people depend on you. With these drawbacks in mind, you can see that leadership is not worth pursuing for any goal other than true service.
Next, ask yourself if you are willing to grow into the position. As a leader, you must be able to recognize and develop both your strengths and weaknesses. If you don’t, you could end up hurting yourself, your team, and the business as a whole. Worse, you’ll be sending the idea that personal growth is unimportant to those around you.
Take an honest inventory of the skills you bring to the table, and seek the opinions of people you respect. Finally, evaluate whether you’re ready to capitalize on your best qualities and strengthen your weaker ones.
People like to debate whether the world’s best leaders are born or made, but the question is irrelevant. The truth is that some people are born with innate leadership qualities, and some people learn to develop them. In both cases, the pursuit of personal and professional growth always trumps ability.
Third, ask yourself whether you are ready to feel discomfort. Leadership is messy. As a leader, you will constantly guide your team into unexplored territory. You will need to familiarize yourself with new situations and transitions.
For most, this type of role leads to anxiety and stress. Ask yourself whether uncomfortable situations make you shut down or inspire you to be more open, creative, and productive. As a leader, you can get used to being uncomfortable, but it takes work and commitment.
Turning leadership strategies into maxims for success
The decision to undergo the transformation involved in becoming an excellent leader does not spring from philosophizing on the qualities of leadership. Rather, it results from conscious action and persistent practice.
As mentioned earlier, the process of becoming an effective leader involves a transformation of continuous self-improvement and personal growth, and I am convinced that this journey can be achieved through deep self-reflection and a number of practical changes. I outline these changes in a year’s worth of weekly maxims — but, in a nutshell — you learn to put your team first, let them shine brightly, show them how to grow, and rejoice when they develop the skills to take your place.
As a growing leader, you learn to use self-reflection and trusted feedback to learn more about yourself. Over time, your new insights enable you to meet conflict head-on, avoid the temptation to seek fulfillment at work, embrace discomfort, accept that you will be proven wrong, and use those mistakes as opportunities for growth.
As you go against your natural grain, you will start reaping the rewards. You will inspire trust and respect through ethical behavior, become a person people want to listen to, gather diverse perspectives to challenge uncertainty, build trust through transparency, set boundaries that enable teams to function at their peak, and understand your team on a whole new level.
Through all your personal growth and transformation, a single mission will remain before you. Everything you do will be designed to serve the people following you by leading them forward. You will make yourself a better person to reach out and help these people thrive.