Idealizing leadership
Narrowing the gap between our perception and reality
I’ve haven’t written to you in a while, outside of the leader series. Most of my attention went to a talk I gave at LeadDev about the leap to becoming a manager of managers. (It’s bigger than it seems!) I’ve also been focused on some big projects I’m pushing forward. The first is turning the leader’s series into a formal podcast. I’m hoping to launch it later this month. I can’t wait to share it with you!
The second initiative is naming the leadership business. I'm thrilled to say after four years operating under my name and a very long process, I finally have a name for my leadership business! I’m working on branding and a new website right now. An announcement coming soon. Ok, on to this week’s edition.
When we’re not in a leadership role, we might desire it. There’s good reason. We think we’ll have more say in decisions. The chance to create business and organizational strategy. The ability to create the kind of environment we longed to have. We romanticize what it will be like. It’s easy to do this, we don’t have a good view of what the role truly entails.
We don’t see the impossible choices leaders face. We miss the complexity of leadership as we operate in ambiguity, uncertainty, and many moving parts. We think we’ll have more autonomy. Instead, we have less in some ways as we work with leaders across the company. These are just a few of the ways our idealized version of leadership differs from the real one.
When the role doesn’t turn out like we expect it can confuse us. When I came into leadership, I didn’t have an accurate understanding of what that really meant. It made the transition into the role even more difficult. Four years ago, after my COO role ended, I was mentally and physically exhausted. Acquisitions are incredibly difficult transitions in a company’s life cycle. Leading during that time heightens all of that.
I didn’t know if I wanted to continue in the field. I considered leaving tech altogether. After months of intense introspection, I decided to stay the course. I reopened my business helping leaders navigate the role.
When I went back, I had one principle — to talk about leadership differently. Not in absolutes, “The right way.” or “The right way successful leaders lead.” but rather about the complexity of leadership. I wanted to show what it really means in reality. It’s a big reason I started my leadership series. We can’t always know exactly what something will be like before we do it for the first time. It’s something I’ve talked about before. The leadership series is one way I’m trying to narrow the gap between our perception and the reality of the role. It’s some of the most important work I do.
Here are three conversations I’ve had that show the realities of leadership rather than idealize it.
Leading an organization is hard in the best of times. What happens when our health fails? Dizzy Smith shared how he navigated this situation.
How do you get a sense of what it’s like to be a CEO when you never intended to be one? Lilly Chen shared her journey and what she’s learned.
Setting product direction and rallying the team around that vision is incredibly satisfying. It also carries a heavy weight as Lauren Nagel shared.
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