Your boss will never become a leader
Took more than two decades studying leadership skills, both through workshops, counseling, courses, evaluations 360 °, among other techniques; and I must confess that I am always eager to say “Look, take it easy, because whatever you do, you will never be that leader.”
If you ask a hundred people who want to be a good leader, I assure you that more than 99% raise his hand. And it is that anyone in their right mind is doing things in the best way possible. So the million dollar question is why teams seldom feel they have a leader as boss?
Because the vast literature on leadership we can find does nothing to tell us how perfect she needs to be and make a person to be considered “leader.” Consider: inspire your team; listen and be empathetic / a; know each / a; treat everyone equally according to their level of development, their personalities, their interests, their tastes; set an example, “to be” an example, communicate clearly, to have empathy, motivate; the involvement and commitment of all, ensure their development, racing line, listen to their personal problems, build confidence, among many others.
In addition, the leader must plan, make decisions, assign responsibilities and tasks, making reports, accountability, monitor progress, solve problems, negotiate, get resources, teach, make things happen, etc. And as the position held, must also sell, serve clients, negotiate with banks, produce, design, dealing with administrative obstacles thousand, or All of the Above!
All this vast literature on “the leader” around us and now studying at colleges and universities, generates increasingly demanding of those who rise to a position of supervisor, boss or manager expectations. What at first was an ideal model “leader” has become the norm “if you do not meet the model, you are not a leader.”
Therefore, we are creating the perfect environment for a great frustrated and unmotivated work force because his boss is not a “leader”. An environment where people have bought into the idea that your boss should be a “leader” and therefore meet the ideal model of the book. An environment where we focus on what people “are not” instead of assessing what they achieved.
Perhaps we have forgotten that organizations are made up of human beings, that is, by imperfect beings who have great qualities but also fears, insecurities, bad habits and countless small “manufacturing defects”. And although, as I said at the beginning, 99.9% those ideals we want to be leaders of the book, those perfect people, we must begin by accepting that we are not and probably never will be.
As leaders, we can try to be better every day, be simple, show us as we are and, rather, ask the members of our team who are they who compensate for our shortcomings. As leaders, managers, teachers and authors, we can help demystify the “leader” and stop generating false expectations in people, and tell them “your boss is not a leader, but together they can make the dream job”