Leader, Know Thyself
By Bob Mason
Know thyself.
This oft repeated advice is usually attributed to Plato quoting Socrates. In fact, it is a Delphic maxim chiseled into the temple of Apollo in Delphi.
It's pretty good advice for a leader.
In fact, it's one of the first things a new leader (or any leader) should consider. There are way too many people in the world who have assumed, or aspire to a leadership role, yet don't really know much about themselves. Oh sure, they know what they want, or maybe what they like or dislike, but so often they have a huge blindspot concerning areas of much greater importance. They haven't really examined a few factors that can get them in trouble. For instance,
- What are their real strengths, and more importantly, their weaknesses?
- What are their real values?
- What really pushes their buttons and why?
- What is the their real definition of success?
Have you stopped to seriously consider these questions? The answers may or may not surprise you. What's more common, and sometimes more surprising is that you may not have readily available answers to any of these questions.
Why is this important?
I love to point out to new leaders that in the leadership position, they are always on parade. Someone is always watching. No matter what you do, those people will eventually see you for who you really are. It doesn't matter what mask you wear, they will see beneath it. That means they will be aware of your weaknesses. They will know what your values really are. They will also learn where your buttons are and how to push them.
When your workers know more about these things than you do, guess who has more leverage? Here's an example.
I once worked for a senior leader who came from a different area and had very limited technical knowledge. Rather than acquiring a rudimentary grasp of his area of responsibility, he tried to bluff his way through. It was pretty obvious what he was doing and he lost the respect of his team. What was amazing was that his own weakness, and it's effect on the team, remained a blind spot for him.
Have you considered the questions above? You should. I guarantee the people you lead will.
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I Learned About Leadership From That!
None of us are truly born with the ability to lead. Some may have more of the qualities that make great leaders, but most often great leadership develops from watching and learning from others. Here is a leadership lesson that I learned.
THE RAFT
We were sitting in a life raft. It was called a 20-man life raft, but I will always wonder what masochists thought 20 full grown men could fit in one.
We were in the water survival portion of U.S. Air Force survival school. It was very dark and several instructors were outside the raft doing their very best to sink us. We were in a large pool rather than the open ocean so even if those instructors had been successful, it wouldn't have caused more than bruised egos.
There were 12 of us in that raft if I remember correctly. Each of us was definitely a type A personality. Even though this experience was not life threatening, we had no intention of failing. Our training up to that point was heavily biased towards taking the leadership role whenever possible. But, in spite of that, something very unexpected happened.
No one took the leadership role.
We all sat in that raft, each trying to take our own action with no coordination. Needless to say, we were not successful. Then, our training began to take over and the inevitable happened; chaos, as we all tried to take charge. In the midst of all that commotion one of my raft mates began to bail water with his hands, being very careful to throw each handful of water into an instructor's face. The loud protests from the instructor who was being assaulted quickly got everyone else's attention and we all began to follow his example.
I learned several lessons from that experience that have stayed with me.
1. Sometimes, even trained leaders need a nudge in the right direction.
2. A group without a designated leader can be non-functional.
3. A group made up of aggressive, type A personalities still requires leadership.
4. Leadership by example can be the most effective type.
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