You are NOT a leader when....

Tony Morgan offered this interesting post called, 10 Easy Ways to Know you are Not a Leader. Check it out. Here are my favorites:

    1     You're waiting on a bigger staff and more money to accomplish your vision.
    9     Your dreams are so small, people think they can be achieved.
   10     No one is following you.

The problem is that most clueless leaders (or shall we call them Pleaders, like Krab is imitation crab) don't recognize that no one is following them. Here are a few more signs that your are a PLEADER:

• People who leave your organization say they left for some very polite reason, like "for my health." Or, "I want to try something new." Translation - your are killing me and I can't stand working for you. If you were a leader, your people would feel comfortable telling you the truth.
• People do not challenge you in meetings. This is a sure sign you are a pleader, because you have trained people that offering their ideas and concerns is met with negative consequences of some sort. Pleaders are often defensive and woefully lacking in self-confidence. They may try to make up for this by being bold and showy, but everyone knows the difference between a pleader and a leader.
• I think Tony is right that pleaders lack vision. You know you are a pleader if you wait for your boss to hand you your vision. Grab the reigns, man/woman!
• You know you are a pleader when all you do is give good news. How much do you talk - I mean serious dialogue - about business, what needs to happen, what's keeping you up at night?
• You are a pleader if your daily and weekly routine has not changed much over the last year. Companies need leaders who will make a significant difference, and the activities that produce these results change. If your to-do list and major projects have not changed, you are an implementer, not a leader.

This all sounds pretty harsh, but pleaders are over paid paper weights and our organizations are in need of real leadership. If you are a pleader (some of you surely are) you can change this. All is not lost. If you see the opportunity to lead and get some good coaching, I think most anyone can lead. I have seen a few great turnaround stories.

Don't plead, lead. Insist on the real thing.

 

 

 

Comments

[laurence haughton]

I love that distinction... you're not a leader if "No one is following you." That's the acid test. Does anyone willingly, freely, follow you with gusto. Do they seek out your advice? Do they do anything with it? If not or if they are tepid... well you know.

I would also think that if you have to use your control/authority to lead - rather than your ability to influence (a power affecting a person, thing, or course of events, especially one that operates without any direct or apparent effort) - you are also a pleader.

Maybe aspiring leaders should measure their potency by measuring how influential they are. What do you think?

[Lisa Haneberg]

Laurence: I think looking at influence is a great idea as long as we calibrate what we mean by influence. I think it is all about the things you said and not influence through hierarchical or maniputative power.