Insights is a bi-monthly newsletter published by Bill Pullen, President of Pullen Associates, a coaching and consulting firm. My personal goal, and the mission of my business is to help people be leaders in their own life. My intent in starting this blog is to initiate a dialogue between like minded people, people who are interested in exploring what it means to be a leader in ones own life. And, people who agree that by being a leader in their own life, they serve the world around them.
Below is the first issue of Insights I offer this as a starting place for our conversation.
Stepping Out of Leadership
Long-time subscribers to my mailing list may have noticed that I have been “missing”. Although I wanted to share thoughts and insights with you, I was not quite sure what I wanted to say.
Well, that has changed. I have it figured out! I encourage you to check out my website to discover what’s new. Although the look is the same, I have revised the content. You will notice a new and more powerful emphasis on the development of individual, team, organization and community leaders.
It has become clear to me that we all are leaders. I have said and thought it before, but after a rather introspective year, I am more convinced than ever that we all feel the pull to make change -- whether in our families, on our teams, in our organizations or in our communities.
If we are honest with ourselves, we admit the urge is there. We often deny it, however, and step out of leadership while rationalizing why we do so. Things I commonly hear from people include:
“I don’t know what to do.”
“I don’t have what it takes.”
“It’s not my responsibility.”
“I don’t have the time, the energy or the resources.”
“I’m afraid.”
“They won’t like me,” or “It won’t be popular.”
And my personal favorite:
“It’s all their fault!”
Consider Allison, a 35-year-old accountant at a large firm. She enjoys a good career as a consultant and receives high praise for her work from supervisors, peers and clients. The firm recently promoted her to a leadership position with a larger team, a bigger budget and a higher level of responsibility. Allison went into the job excited by the opportunity to make more of an impact on the firm and for her clients.
Six months into the new job she is floundering. Allison feels as though her superiors, her team and her clients are pulling her in conflicting directions. She does not know which way to turn. It seems the harder she works, the less effective she is.
Allison called me feeling sad, angry, frustrated, overwhelmed. She was ready to quit. She had convinced herself that she was not up to the challenging of leading people. She was ready to step out of leadership. She told herself, “I can’t do it.”
It is not that Allison cannot be a good leader. Her problem is that she has reached her leadership edge; she has reached the line where the skills she always used and the way she always operated no longer work. Her new position requires a new way of operating and a different set of skills.
What Allison needs to do (and what we all need to do when we reach that leadership edge) is to recognize her situation as an opportunity to grow as a leader, to embrace the challenge and to create a plan for overcoming it. She needs to remain in her leadership role while creating the space for the leader in her to grow.
What about you?
Where in your life are you stepping out of leadership? At home? At work? In your community?
What are you doing about it?
If you are doing nothing, what are you telling yourself?
The more aware we are of when and why we step out of leadership the better able we are decide whether or not stepping out is what we want to do.
In future articles I will discuss the costs to self, team, organization and community of stepping out of leadership. I will examine the benefits of not stepping out, and I will offer strategies for growth.
I am interested in your thoughts and comments about this article. Is it helpful? Why? Why not? Send your comments to me at Bill@PullenAssociates.com
Please share this article with your colleagues and encourage them to sign up for future articles by visiting www.PullenAssociates.com.
©2006, William J. Pullen, Pullen Associates
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3 comments:
I enjoyed your article on Strengths are Steroids...I can understand
for "Tom's" situation because he was the "one in charge"--top
authority. But what about someone like me?
I'm an Administrative
Assistant--no one to delegate any work load to, but have proven high
efficiency to my employer and now I feel "run over" with my
responsibilities because our business has increased and I can no longer follow-through on ALL of my responsibilities.
I'm secretary, financials officer, adninistrative assistant, payroll
manager and the other employees turn to me for answers quite a bit of the time....I cannot take more than a couple of days off at any given time because all work backs up and it takes me 2-3 WEEKS to catch up again! I've spoken with my employer and he says he sees my need and view but cannot see where to financially handle another employee. I over-conscious of "being responsible". What do YOU suggest in this situation? I appreciate any constructive paradigm at this point!
Kindly
First, thanks for your comments. I really appreciate your comments and may use you (or a story like yours) for an upcoming newsletter.
You offer a really important perspective. You are in a very frustrating, challenging position.
The first thing that jumps out at me is your admission of being "over responsible." This sounds like a strength on steroids.
What would happen if you dialed the responsibility back a bit and
things started to back up? What would that cost the organization?
It sounds to me like your organization is experiencing a fairly common growing pain. There is more work than can be effectively handled by the current team and the owner is afraid to make the leap to the next level. I wonder how you can help him see how getting you some additional support would actually IMPROVE the business and generate additional income? I call this making a "business case" for what you
need (additional support). If you can appeal to your bosses business sense, you may make more headway.
In the mean time, pay attention to where your strength of being responsible is running you into the ground. It may be uncomfortable to admit that you can't get it all done or to "cry uncle" but in the long run it may be the most responsible thing you can do for yourself and the business.
I hope this helps. Let me know your thoughts.
Thank you so much, Bill, for responding to my "SOS", I went on a whim that you would even reply at all!! Most people in your business talk big but aren't "reachable" when the face meets the asphalt!
If I could keep my sanity to "let" the flow of backed up work increase a little more then it might be the alarm needed. My boss is looking at revenue but not realistically at how to keep it "fed and watered". Each time I've talked with him and have pointed out the detriments to the direction we're headed...I feel like I'm "whining". I'm of the thinking at this point of having to just let the back up happen...life is too short to run it into the ground and no one will stop the merry-go-round for me!
Thanks again, Bill, for letting me "vent" and giving me some supportive advice. If you're interested I'll let you know what develops.
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