Everyone wants to be a leader
But no one seems to know why.
The leadership market is booming. The corporate leadership training space is estimated to grow by 9.51%, equaling a staggering 18.59 billion dollars by 2026.
If you're like me, your money has also been funneled in that direction.
Leadership books
Leadership conferences
Leadership coaches
Leadership webinars
Leadership blogs
Leadership podcasts
Leadership magazines
Everyone wants to be a leader—and many of these resources can help us in that pursuit. Some of these resources are hype, but many are invaluable! I love and benefit from this content daily, but I continue to notice a theme when observing leaders in the workplace.
Leaders without a compass
Here's the problem. Most people who are (or want to be) leaders can't articulate why they want to be leaders—at least not with measurable honesty.
How can someone lead when they lack directional clarity themselves? How can someone motivate the intentions and direction of others when they lack intention, purpose, and direction themselves? Or how can someone expect selfless, dependable behavior from their team when their intentions fall short of that?
In his excellent book The Motive, Patrick Lencioni explores the heart of this problem. He identifies two fundamental reasons people want to be leaders.
Reward Centered Leadership
This heading comes straight from Lencioni’s book. The reward-centered leader longs to be acknowledged and compensated. They perceive leadership as a reward for their enduring commitment and diligence. They are enticed by the allure of attention, social status, flexibility, power, and financial gain that come with their role.
Let's be clear, though. We all work for pay, and desiring better compensation isn't the problem in and of itself. Remember, the question here isn't, "Would you like better financial compensation?" Most of us would say yes. The question is, "Why do you want to lead?"
The reward-centered leader is overwhelmingly self-focused. Watch what happens when things go wrong. Do they blame others or try to force or manipulate others to adopt their perspective? Do they dominate the air time, preventing others with differing perspectives from chiming in? Are alternate perspectives treated as opposition to their authority?
The reward-centered leader isn't necessarily malicious, but they're rarely selflessly benevolent. They may be generous in spirit in seasons of abundance, but in seasons of scarcity, their heart becomes known.
Responsibility Centered Leadership
This heading also comes straight from Lencioni’s book. Responsibility-centered leaders are driven by an unwavering desire to serve others, doing whatever is necessary to bring about good for their team and customers.
They're overwhelmingly others-focused; watch them when things go wrong. Do they patiently listen and guide? Do they make an effort to explain not only why something is important but also to invite the differing opinions of others?
They see their leadership as an opportunity and tremendous responsibility to bring about as much good for as many people as possible—not simply orchestrating their own desires through others.
Responsibility-centered leadership doesn't mean that "everyone stays" or profitability no longer matters. No, it simply means making hard decisions based on what's best in the long run. You see protecting the "seaworthiness" of the company as your ultimate responsibility; if the ship can't float, no one is safe.
They see the company as a vehicle for serving others, meeting needs, providing value, and creating good. Yes, they must keep the ship afloat, but they do it from a heart of service to others.
The responsibility-centered leader does whatever is necessary to bring about good for the people they lead. They understand that serving others is the only valid motivation for leadership.
Regret Centered Leadership
Meet the accidental leader. She didn't mean to end up here. She may have had a good idea, and it blossomed into a company. Perhaps she was the best in her department, and over time, that resulted in promotions and advancements into leadership roles.
Patrick Lencioni didn't include this category in his book, and he was right to do so for his purpose, yet I wanted to mention it here.
You might be this person. Unlike the opener of this article, you don't actually want to be a leader—but here you are, in a position of leadership nonetheless.
You have a choice, however. No one stays in this category forever. Staying in the "regret" space will only sour your soul, pushing you into a self-absorbed spiral of rewards-centered leadership: it's all about you and what you (didn't) want.
Shake off your regret and make a choice: Either pass on your leadership role to someone who selflessly desires that responsibility or step up to the calling of becoming a genuinely selfless leader. Oh, and buy some leadership materials—they can help!
As always,
Stay humble. Hang tough.
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