| Why is Leadership so hard? |
| Written by Moyra Mackie | ||||||
| Tuesday, 05 October 2010 13:55 | ||||||
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Leadership is a much-misunderstood concept. Mainly, we think, because so few of us can look around and point to many people who are in management positions that we would describe as "good leaders". Why is this, when most people agree that Leadership is such an essential part of successful management? Perhaps it's because we all have slightly different ideas of what exactly constitutes "good Leadership"? Perhaps it's because like most of the best things in life, Leadership is simple in theory, tough in practice? We would agree with all of this, and add that one of the things that makes leading others so hard is that so few us are given any help or training in how to lead before we are given some real live people to manage! And there are many Leadership traps that we can fall into. For example the number one Leadership Trap in our experience is that of being too controlling. Managers who are inexperienced, or under time pressure, confuse the need to be "in control" with being "controlling". If you do fall into the controlling trap, you may well find that your team responds by giving up even more of the control to you. You can recognise this when teams start to give up responsibility and accountability for getting things done, or getting things done right and done on time. When this happens, those in management roles tend to blame their teams and respond with more control measures! This usually involves telling people exactly how to do things or even deciding to do those things themselves. And a negative cycle takes hold. If managers want to really lead teams that are energized and motivated, it is important to break out of this cycle by stepping back and taking a long, hard look at their management style. It may seem counter-intuitive, but in order to be "in control", managers will need to give up some of that control to their teams. This requires managers to not only take a leap of faith, (otherwise known as trust), but to exercise self-control and self-awareness. Being able to delegate wisely and appropriately will also be required. Read more about how to Develop Leadership Skills and to understand the Difference Between Leading and Managing, click on the attachments below.
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