I worked with someone, many years ago, who was promoted because he was great at solving technical problems but turned out to be a poor leader. Byron (not his real name) had some very serious personal flaws including his relationship with alcohol.
Byron’s career was cut short in the end because of his poor leadership skills, despite his technical prowess. Tragically his life was later cut short when he lost his struggle with alcohol. An extreme case of personal flaws affecting leadership capability.
In real organizations, people with serious flaws get promoted and sustained in positions beyond their capabilities. That’s an important topic but not the point we’re making here. .
If we want to develop leaders, not just hire and fire them, we need to understand why leaders can perform in some areas whilst failing in others.
At BalancedKaizen we have broken down how leadership works, so we know what those areas are.
We’ve unpeeled the onion – to show 3 layers that make us whole as leaders.
At our core is our Self. We travel through life with our strengths & weaknesses, personality and beliefs. Self is who we are in the world.
Our 2nd layer is our Work. We go through our careers building skills, experience and abilities as well as retaining gaps. Work is what we do in our job.
Our 3rd layer is our Team. For those who spend time as leaders, we have relationships and behaviors, impact and influence that lead a team to achieve results. Team isn’t us, it’s our effect on others we lead.
Young children can just be their Self.
As we grow to adults we have the added complexity & responsibility of Work.
Leaders add the responsibility of their team, so they live 3 lives, Self, Work. Team.
Our ability to be our Self and do our Work affect our ability to lead our Team. We need all 3 to succeed.
Life is not judgment free. Society, families and friends shape you but also judge your Self. Behavior, Action, Values. Good & bad.
Organizations and leaders judge your Work. Knowledge, Skills, Outcomes. Good & bad. Your team does too.
Organizations and – most importantly your own team – judge your Team leadership. Often differently.
“..Leaders live 3 lives, Self, Work. Team….”
A “good” person who does good work can still struggle to lead a Team. They need to develop leadership skills.
A strong person who doesn’t do good work will struggle to lead. They need work skills also.
An incomplete person will definitely struggle to lead regardless whether they have work skills or not. They need help with life skills. Like Byron.
Fortunately we have all our lives to develop these, starting from birth with Self. The downside of starting at birth is that Self is the hardest to change.
Looking at leadership through the 3 levels will give us a lot to talk about in coming months.
Unpeeling 3 layers of Self, Work & Team will allow you to develop your leadership by touching on issues where they are, and discussing ways to improve those specific issues.
Your leadership can improve by improving your Self & your Work, not just your Team leadership. The things you do when you’re not being a leader.
Day after day, season after season, year after year, situation after situation. Tack after tack.
SelfKaizen. WorkKaizen. TeamKaizen
Lots to talk about..
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“I might be wrong, but at least I’ve thought about it…”