The Leadership Transition

At work I've been going through Franklin-Covey leadership training seminars and they've been really good. During Thursday's session we watched a video of sound bites from Jack Welch. One of the things he said really struck me. It was something to the effect of "becoming a leader is the most important transition you will ever attempt. You will either make it or you won't." This had the sound of truth to it, as I've been learning about leadership over the past two and a half years. Later on he commented on how love for developing the people he led was what made him a good leader. That struck me too, because I believe I am lacking in that area. It also dawned on me that one of the great fallacies in leadership is that we often promote into leadership people that were really good at whatever it is that the people they lead will be doing.

For instance, I was a very good recruiter. (I hope this comes across as confident, not arrogant; I feel that I was good at it and have had many trusted friends agree). So eventually I was picked to lead a team of recruiters. I discovered very quickly that I was not as good at leading recruiters as I was at recruiting. The two roles required very different skill-sets. I don't regret becoming the leader -- not at all. It was an important challenge for me and I do think I got better at it over the two+ years that I led the phone team. I just realize now the extent of the challenge. The more I learn about good leadership, the more I see ways in which I failed to lead the phone team well. Just being a good recruiter wasn't enough to help them become good recruiters. There's so much more to it than that! I needed to help them become good recruiters, yes, but more importantly, I needed to care for them as people, help them develop and grow -- help them be successful in the job they currently had, and in the ones that were yet to come.

The bottom line is, I cannot rest on the abilities I've developed up until now, because they are not sufficient to make me into a great leader. I need to develop a different skill-set to reach that goal -- and that is exactly my goal. Not to be great for my own reputation, but because I believe God would want me to be the best possible leader. I am in that role -- World Access (now Mondial USA) hired me to be a leader because they saw something there. And I think there IS something there. But it is a work in progress. This course is showing me that, and it's humbling. I am keenly aware that I'm in the midst of this huge transition in my life and career and it can still go either way. I need to figure out what will help me to navigate the transition with grace, dignity and success -- for the sake of all those whom I will influence.