Andrew Carnegie, the 19th century industrialist said that many people knew more about steel than he did, but that didn’t matter, he knew about getting the best out of people.
The majority of managers I have had interactions with are kind, honest people, but their major failing is fear. They operate out of fear and think they need to control everything. This also leads them to think that they should be better at everything that their team does.
After reading that, how ridiculous does that sound? Is this you?
There is an economic principle at work here called the Peter Principle. Basically, people get promoted above the level of their competency. The best sales person gets promoted to lead the sales team but the skills to sell and the skills to lead are completely different and now the manager makes the team worse.
Fear strikes again.
Lets look at people who are are undeniably great in their fields and take a moment to think about this in another context.
Michael Jordan is considered by many, including myself, to be the best basketball player ever. But he wasn’t the best at everything on his team. Dennis Rodman was a better rebounder. He had many players that were better shooters. Scottie Pippen was arguably a better defender. His greatness comes from getting the best out of his team.
Steven Spielberg is a great director. But he isn’t the best camera man, art director, costume designer, etc. His job is to get the best out of them to achieve his vision.
Leadership is not about having others make you feel bigger but about making those in your team better. Have them do things they couldn’t think possible.
A leaders three main jobs are:
- Provide a vision of where the team is going
- Put their team in positions to succeed
- Protect their team from all the other political crap going on
A leaders job is not to be the best worker, but to be the best leader, and as Andrew Carnegie said “No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit for doing it.”
Luke McMeeken-Ruscoe 