I’ve studied leadership for over 25 years now and, during that time, have read numerous books and articles on the topic. Years ago while reading one of John Maxwell’s books, I came across where he said, “he who thinks he leads, but has no followers, is only taking a walk”. That simple statement has stuck with me for many years as it has become one of my favorite leadership quotes of all time. There’s so much truth in that one simple statement and it’s safe to say that we have lots of people, nationwide, who are simply taking walks.
There’s been a lot of debate as to whether a person is naturally born a leader or whether they can be created into a leader. I believe that some people are born with the inherent personality to more easily be a leader than others although I firmly believe that anyone can become a leader, if they chose to be one. Becoming a leader, to me, is more about a person’s desire. If one wants to become a leader, he or she can, although they must be willing to do what it takes to become one.
Why Is It So Hard To Lead Others?
Part of this is because we often tie leadership to positions and titles. Think about it, whenever someone asks about your company’s leadership, who are they normally inquiring about? It’s the executives, presidents, etc. They’re not asking about your frontline worker! Strangely enough, there are many executives and administrators who are good managers but are lousy leaders. The title or position provides them with authority, it doesn’t provide them with leadership. Authority and leadership are two totally different things. Authority is about power imbalance, such as the executive having the power to order an employee to do a certain duty. Leadership isn’t about power, it’s about influence, such as others being willing to follow your example without being told or compelled to do so.
Perhaps the most important reason as to why it’s difficult to lead others is because many people are challenged with leading one particular person - themselves. You can’t lead others if you can’t, first, lead yourself. You can’t dictate leadership, you demonstrate it. If you want to be an effective leader, you must become disciplined and be able to consistently demonstrate your leadership to others by and through your behaviors. A lot of people skip this step and automatically try to be a leader for others - but this never works.
“To lead others, you must first lead yourself!”
Equally important is your personality, mindset, and characteristics. You will never be a great, effective leader unless you first become a great, effective person! Many people have tried to be great leaders although they were terrible people - they treated others badly, they felt as though others were inferior to them, they viewed workers as a means to an end, etc. No matter what their actual leadership potential may have been, these individuals never become marginal leaders due to them being terrible people. This involves building relationships with those around you, including employees, and treating them as equals with dignity and respect.
“You can’t be a great leader if you’re not a great person first!”
Many people want to be perceived as a leader but they don’t want to do what it takes to be a leader. Everything we do or don’t do has a price, including leadership. True leaders are constant, lifelong learners. They’re never satisfied as they are always looking for ways to improve themselves and for better ways to accomplish things. In other words, being a leader isn’t a destination, it’s a journey! In fact, leadership doesn’t have an actual destination. If you stop learning as a leader, you regress to the point that you lose your leadership status. Leaders know this, that’s why they’re always learning and improving. They’re continually focused on making things and themselves better today than yesterday.
“Being a leader isn’t a destination, it’s a journey!”
Conclusion
We often think that leadership is something that is provided to others. While this is true in some regards, working towards leadership is more about providing growth and influence to yourself. If you can’t lead yourself, it’ll be impossible for you to lead others. Yes, if you have a title or position, they’ll go along with your orders and commands but they won’t follow you. Additionally, you’ll have very little to no influence over their lives. The most difficult person any of us will ever potentially lead is ourselves. We’ll accept excuses for procrastination, personal insubordination, and defiance from ourselves more easily than we would from any of our subordinates. We’ll even justify our own excuses to the point that we’ll convince ourselves that the excuses are legitimate.
A general can’t lead his troops from behind. He has to be out front. Likewise, people won’t follow you down a path if you’re not willing to travel the path as well. True leadership is about doing and being. It doesn’t begin once we’re promoted and gain a fancy title or position. It starts now! It starts with gaining mastery and influence over ourselves. Without being the leader over our own behaviors, actions, and thoughts, we’ll never be a leader to others. Instead, we’ll simply be taking solitary walks.
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