If you are like me, you may have encountered a situation where you refer to someone as a leader and they respond that they are not simply because they are not leading anyone. This is contrary to the Law of Influence, which simply states that “the true measure of leadership is influence nothing more nothing less”. I like to think that people who believe they only lead when they have people whom they supervise have been fed a lot of myths about leadership. A myth is a misrepresentation of the truth. In most cases, this misconception has been spread so far and wide that most people believe it to be the truth.
Let us spend some time debunking some of the misconceptions about leadership. The first one is that Leadership and management are the same. This is a big myth for sure because in my view, one is a subset of the other. All leaders are Managers but not all Managers are leaders. This is simply because as we have articulated above, leadership is all about influencing others while management is more about ensuring that systems and process that have been designed are in fact operational and can be used to generate results. You may have seen Managers who refuse to change with the times and reason that this is how we have always done things. These are the people Eric Hoffer referred to when he observed that “in times of change, learners inherit the earth while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists”.It appears safe to argue that such managers have their work cut out for them if they want to make it on the list of leaders. It follows therefore that if for one reason you find yourself in this category, the starting point is to recognise that it is not a safe place to stay in and do the work to embrace the changing circumstances around you and focus on growing your influence.
The second myth about leadership is the position myth. Unfortunately, I believed this myth for a long time until I encountered the work by my mentor John C. Maxwell. Perhaps you have encountered people when asked to do a certain job often respond, “that is beyond my pay grade”. Such people forget that not only are they keeping themselves in a box, but also, they are closing the lid so tight that no one will know there is something valuable in that box. In his book the 5 Levels of Leadership, John Maxwell begins by reminding us that “leading is a verb and not a noun”.He then states that “leadership is a process not a position”.This in effect means that you not having a big title or position does not mean you are not a leader. Similarly, the fact that you have a big title together with all the bells and whistles that come with it does not necessarily mean you are a leader. Let us always keep in mind that the proof of leadership is found in who you are influenecing.
The final myth I want us to consider today is one that purports that all entrepreneurs are leaders. We know for sure that entrepreneurs are people who tend to be creative, take huge risks and go where others fear to go. They are usually visionary and fit Jonathan Swift’s definition of vision which is “being able to see what is invisible to others”. As a result, they may take huge financial risks with the hope that this will result in financial gains. In today’s world, the list of entrepreneurs is growing by the day with people as young as six jumping onto this bus. However, even though the risks they take may at times bear fruit, not all entrepreneurs are leaders. As stated, above leadership is a process. It follows therefore that for an entrepreneur to gain the title of leader, they need to embrace the Law of Process as espoused by John C Maxwell in his famous book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. This law states that “leadership develops daily not in a day”. What this means is that regardless of your success as an entrepreneur one needs to remember that what got them where they are may does not sustain them in that position. Instead, they need to commit to lifelong learning and growth so that they can remain at the top of their game.
Finally, it is worth stating here that there are many other misconceptions that people have about leadership. The work is ours to do to remember what leadership is and to allow ourselves to engage in the process that will grow us from where we currently are to one where our leadership is revered, and then we can reproduce other leaders. To do this work, let us reflect on these questions:
- What myths have I been holding about leadership?
- Knowing what I know now, what steps am I going to take to learn more about what it entails to be an effective leader?
Rosette is a Transformational Leadership Coach with the Maxwell Certified Leadership Team. She believes that we each must define what success means to us and then live life according to that definition. She has qualifications in Law, Business Administration and Human Resource Management and Development. You can contact her for a complimentary Coaching session at AT YOUR SERVICE – Fulfilled Life Network