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In Who Am I - Part One I wrote about leadership lessoned I learned reading To Heal a Fractured World, by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. The article explored the fact that so many of the world's greatest leaders experience imposture syndrome questioning “who am I” to be a leader.
In this article, I’d like to explore this from a slightly different perspective… “who am I” as a leader.
Rabbi Sack makes a profound statement in his book… “A good leader creates followers. A great leader creates leaders.”
So how does one create leaders? The first step is to believe. We have to believe in ourself and our ability to be a leader. We also have to believe in the people around us. Often times people need someone to believe in their potential before they are ready to believe in their self.
As Rabbi Sacks wrote, “we grow to fill other people’s expectations of us.” If you want great people, expect that they are great. This help them grow from who they are today to who they are capable of being tomorrow.
While belief is an essential component of being a leader, it is not enough on it’s own. Jim Collins, in his book Good to Great, outlines 5 levels to being a great leader.
Level 1 is the highly capable individual. They make productive contributions through talent, knowledge, skills, and good work habits. They contribute as an individual performer.
Level 2 is the contributing team member. They work effectively with others on the team. They contribute towards achieving the team’s objectives. They are a good team player.
Level 3 is the competent manager. They organize people and resources towards the effective and efficient pursuit of intentional objectives. They manage processes and coordinate teams.
Level 4 is the effective leader. They drive commitment and disciplined action towards a clear and compelling vision. They raise performance standards, create clarity, and prioritize options.
Level 5 is the humble, ambitious, executive. They build great and enduring organizations through humility, ambition, and determined will. They focus on long-term success of the organization. They focus on results while putting the good of the organization ahead of their personal ambition. They create leaders.
Healing a fractured world takes leaders who create more leaders. Life gets better because of the people who believe in a better future and believe in others who are prepared to do what it takes to make it happen. With that, I’ll leave you with a question… who do you want to be as a leader?
P.S., changing gears... last year I road my bike from Toronto to NYC to raise funds to send kids with cancer and serious illness to overnight summer camp. We are helping these kids experience the joys of being a child in spite of the fact that they are going through a huge challenge.
This year I am riding from Toronto to Quebec City. The first three days of this ride are about 200KM each. Since committing to this ride, I have on many occasions asked myself, “who am I” to do this. Every day I get up to train, I have to push past my self-doubt and respond to the call to act.
If this resonates with you, I’d be delighted if you would consider donating to this amazing cause.
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About EOS
EOS is a simple, complete and proven system for running a truly great organization. As an EOS Implementer, I help my clients create organizational alignment, execute with accountability and discipline, and work together as a healthy team.