In most organizations, there are two kinds of people in leadership roles: leaders and jerks. Let’s distinguish between the two.
Jerks are managers (supervisors, directors, etc.) who:
• Use their positional power to order people to do things. “My way or the highway.”
• See people as simply means to an end. “I need a couple of warm bodies to take on this project.”
• Take credit for any successes of their teams, and are quick to assign blame to others when things don’t go well.
• Are clueless and insensitive about the feelings of others.
• Are hooked on power and measure themselves based on the power they can wield.
• Are afraid of successful subordinates
• Delegate unpleasant tasks, but keep plum assignments.
• Love to talk about the “chain of command”
Leaders are managers (supervisors, directors, team leaders, and even individual contributors, etc.) who:
• Rarely (if ever) resort to their positional power to get people to do things.
• See people as valuable and multi-dimensional. They care about people and realize that organizations serve people, not the other way around.
• Give away the credit for any successes of their teams, and are quick to take the blame when things don’t go well.
• Are aware (and act on) what’s really going on with people.
• Are hooked on helping people achieve their full potential.
• Measure their own success, over the long term, by the number of people from their staff who surpass their own achievements
• Are more than willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done, including the unpleasant, and delegate assignments to stretch and grow the people on their staff
• Love to talk about growth, potential, service, and achievement.
Being a jerk is easier; being a leader is far, far more fulfilling.
And, despite what they say, if you’re a true leader, you won’t be “lonely at the top.” The loneliest so-called “leaders” are the jerks who just don’t get it.
What would you add to either list?
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