Wanting to be at the Front Isn’t Enough

The unequivocal one step process to becoming a great leader is a bit confusing. Leaders want to be “the man,” the front of the room, the head honcho, right? Well, good ones don’t.

Good leaders end up at the front of the room, and it’s rarely the desire to be at the front of the room that got them there. Rather, it’s their mastery they’ve accumulated to share or their perspective to impart that got them there, which is troubling because simply wanting to be at the front of the room doesn’t add up to much captivating experience and rarely offers enough perspective to impact others.

What I’m proposing is that the best leaders inherit their position from a chronic desire to be the best student of the game. One doesn’t simply lead. They act, they dig, they pry, and they scrounge for the best, most critical information, experience, and people to do it better than the next guy.

At that point, whether or not they are the best apprentice doesn’t really matter, which is why the best coaches aren’t always the best athletes and the best athletes aren’t always the best team captains and the best MBA students aren’t the best CEOs.

Remember, the most passionate students of the game are leaders by default. So, whether you’re trying to figure out who to follow or how to lead, I’d encourage you to point your focus towards the dirty hands of work, the pages of the thickest books, and in the heads of the brightest minds, because wanting to be at the front of the room isn’t enough.

 

Logan Gelbrich

@functionalcoach