Creating a mindset for leadership that helps you rather than hurts you

I’ve seen it more often than I’ve seen Forrest Gump, and I can recite almost every line from that movie.  A person who finds themselves in a leadership role because they want to earn more money, they’re driven to succeed and progress, to have power and influence over others, simply because it was offered to them, or there was no other upward path within their organization that didn’t involve people leadership. 

I have always found it mind boggling that organizations put individuals in leadership roles with minimal support, education, or preparation.  If you’re moving from a contributor dominant role to a leadership dominant role, you’re literally changing vocations.  You’ve moving from science to art, and most of the skills, approaches, actions, qualities, and competencies that you leveraged in the past, will not only be less effective in your leadership role, but some of them can be more costly than a Lamborghini.

In my humble observation gleaned from over a decade of executive and leadership coaching, leaders that find themselves struggling for results AND their own personal peace and fulfillment are the leaders who ‘ended up in a leadership role’, without taking the time to clearly define a mindset that will serve them in the difficult situations that endlessly approach day after day. 

Patrick Lencioni (one of my favourite leadership writers), hit the nail on the head in his book The Motive.  Patrick contrasts two distinctly different leadership motivations:

Reward-centred leadership: The belief that being a leader is the reward for hard work; therefore, the experience of being a leadership should be pleasant and enjoyable, free to choose what they work on and avoid anything mundane, unpleasant, or uncomfortable.

Vs:

Responsibility-centred leadership: The belief that being a leader is a responsibility; therefore, the experience of leading should be difficult and challenging (though certainly not without elements of personal gratification).

This wisdom manifests itself to me on a daily basis and typically looks like this….a client shows up to a coaching session and wants guidance on how to navigate through a people related challenge they’re having (completely normal).  What always jumps out at me, is that there is often an undertone of irritability, frustration, complaining, blaming and eye rolling at the very fact that they must deal with it in one manner or another.  Inevitably, after some digging, we find our way back to the root of their discomfort.  They have lost sight of, or have never determined their motivation for being a leader in the first place.   They are facing a difficult challenge without a purpose or why.  Or their chosen motivation is reward-centred, which makes leading feel more like a wet diaper than something they want. 

I want to mention that this is not solely a ‘new leader’ problem.  I often run into this ineffective mindset with very evolved C-Suite leaders.  It’s also important to understand that remaining rooted in a responsibility-centred leadership mindset takes continual mindfulness.  Some of the most selfless and inspiring leaders I’ve had the pleasure of coaching slip into rewards-centred leadership from time to time.   Perfection is not the expectation, but awareness to quickly re-root oneself in a more serving motivation is.   One of the two motives will always be predominant, and that motive will have a profound impact on the success of the leader and the organization he or she serves.

Below is a quick contrast of some of the behaviours and experiences one can expect to have in a rewards-centred leadership mindset versus a responsibility-centred mindset:

So, what’s your motivation for leadership?  What’s your why?  As Simon Sinek details in his start with why course, the structure to develop a why statement is:

To (contribution….insert action or verb), so that (impact…what others deserve to feel or experience).  For example:  To challenge, cheer and grow others, so that they can become better leaders and people. 

Getting crystal clear on your personal leadership ‘why’ will root you firmly in a mindset that serves you, others, and gets results.