Ask yourself this question. Don't answer it immediately, rather, give it a few minutes to simmer.
Should a leader be the smartest person on a team?
I believe that this idea of intellectual superiority is a farce in leadership today. Seniority or skill progression in business is not the metric to promote people into a leadership role. When consoling with a team member the other day, he said to me something that is very profound but true.
"Would you rather have a team member who is a 10 or a leader that is a 3?"
Let's unpack that some. Someone can be truly skilled in the procedures already set in place. They may have all of the answers. They may be the quickest and most accurate at their job. Does this mean that they have the capacity to lead their team? Not necessarily... Leadership is not a curriculum, it's a relationship that a leader has with their team. There is no perfect class to make you a perfect leader. It's not a set of skills one can learn in a weekend. Leaders manage many different types of people and none come with an instruction manual.
How do you combat this?
A leader builds a following by setting examples. They meet, act, and part with integrity and passion. Through this, you can achieve success as a leader. Once you are able to lead without a title, you can start making an impact within your team. Where does growth fall into this?
Well...you can't learn everything about leadership in one course, but it doesn't mean that you don't keep searching for answers. A leader should strive to find answers that best assist their team in their duties. Leaders should strive to improve their knowledge so that they can better serve that team. When you assume the role of a leader, you are taking responsibility for their actions as well as your own. Why not arm yourself with as many resources as possible to combat issues as they arise?
The other responsibility of leaders is to grow others. There are so many people in the world today afraid of having their jobs stripped from them because of someone else's skills. Does this mean that leaders should not grow others, all in the name of job security?
I believe that this is one of the gravest mistakes one can make in leadership. The fear of losing out to another is a roadblock that the leader should be trying to remove, not create. I have always tried to train others to be better than myself. I want them to grow and be successful. Training others to be knowledgeable and capable of my responsibilities means that I can free more of my time to develop more people.
Giving your teams as many skills as you can will empower them to take charge, become passionate about their work, and create a culture of growth that will last a lifetime.
Thank you for following along,
Mikey
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