Having achieved the ripe age of 30, I figured I'd share some thoughts on leadership. But before gracing you with the wise sage-like experiences of an old millennial, it is worth disclosing my short history with leadership. I am a young leader. It was only within the past decade that I truly started engaging in leadership opportunities. This started with roles like joining the Advisory Council for my college dormitory or leading within my campus ministry at UGA. However, the roles evolved quickly in 2014, when within the same year I started a coffee business, oversaw our church's college ministry, coordinated a cultural class and found out I was to be a father. Now, in 2019, it seems DIFFICULT to remove leadership from the many areas of my life, whether I want to or not! Ultimately, you have been warned: I am a young leader.
There are great things we can discuss on WHAT makes a good leader or WHAT is great leadership. But there is already plenty of excellent material on those subjects. Plus, I want a little more leadership experience before I make bold claims about what makes a good leader. Therefore, I desire to share not WHAT leadership is, but instead, three things that leadership has TAUGHT me.
1) Leadership is revealing.
One of the first jobs I applied for fresh off an agricultural degree from UGA was at a tree farm. I woke up extra early that morning, made sure my beard was nicely trimmed (ok, so I didn't have much of a beard at all), and ate a healthy breakfast. I arrived at the company office 15 minutes early dressed neatly and ready to go. The receptionist ushered me into a room, handed me a personality test, and asked me to complete it... This threw me off a little bit. I was expecting an interview, but surely it was coming later. After 45 minutes of answering questions like, "If you were at a party, would you: a) talk with as many people as possible, b) hide in a corner, or c) look for others not engaged in conversation," I handed in my test, upon which I was dismissed. No interviews. No conversations. Just a personality test...
AND I DID NOT GET THE JOB! WHAT?! Does that mean my personality sucks? It is one thing to lack certain skills for a job. It is a whole other thing to think you failed to get a job because of tainted characteristics at random parties. "I am sorry Mr. Klayman, but we are looking for people at a party who would choose the cucumber hors 'doeuvres, not the cheese puffs." I must admit it was a little debilitating thinking my personality prevented me from getting a job.
When it comes to personality tests, I never knew how to answer those questions. It was hard to know what I would do or not do, mainly because I did not know myself. Upon graduation, I had no clue what my strengths and weaknesses were.
Thankfully, leadership is revealing. I know myself incredibly well now. I know what ticks me off and what I stink at. Conversely, I know my skills and what motivates me. And I now know EXACTLY what I would do at a party (not that that is any of your business). To truly know yourself is one of the most rewarding parts of leadership.
2.) Leadership can be lonely.
Please do not think I intend to scare you away from leadership. Nor am I throwing myself a pity party. But leadership can be straight up lonely! Leaders carry a level of responsibility that many others usually avoid, and it can make you feel isolated. I can think of a few big decisions that had to be made for Three Tree Coffee over the years that no one else could make but me. And the stakes were high. It was easy to feel alone in those times. I remember occasions where I hardly felt a part of the very college ministry community I was entrusted to lead.
Put simply, as a leader, you will sometimes miss 'following' and you need to be prepared for that. Thankfully, I have discovered through all of this a deep level of fellowship with Christ. To me, Jesus was one of the greatest leaders. He walked an incredibly lonely path that no one else could take, all for the greater good of His followers. Knowing He walked a path of lonely leadership gives me communion with Him in a new way. More so, His promise to never leave resonates afresh when you feel isolated in leadership.
3.) True Leadership is needed.
Forgive me as I start to dive into WHAT leadership is for a moment. We are constantly being fed a fake form of leadership that focuses primarily on, 'how many followers can I get?' What's even worse is that we can feel successful pretty easily at this fake leadership game. Culture leads us to believe that the number of Instagram followers and video views defines our leadership; that the number of volunteers or church attendees directly correlates with our ability to lead. Sadly, some of our social media 'influencers' are not leaders at all. The goal of these fake leaders is to USE their following for their own gain.
Like most things in life, I have been learning that quality is far more important than quantity when it comes to true leadership. Fake leadership is about popularity. But true leadership is about empowering.
Let me give an example. I was having a conversation recently with one of our managers-in-training. This particular manager is very talented at latte art. He can draw beautiful pictures in tiny demitasse cups. During a recent dialogue, I told him, "Your success is no longer measured just in how good your latte art is. It is now measured in how good all the staff's latte art is." His new role as a leader is to equip others, not impress the masses.
True leadership is humble. True leadership is invested. True leadership is confident (but not cocky). True leadership has accountability. True leadership will inconvenience you. And true leadership trains up new leaders, which means true leadership actually causes you to LOSE followers. Did you catch that? The BEST leaders I know equip their followers to LEAVE the 'following' role, and become a leader. And the world desperately needs more true leaders.
Here is to 30 more years of learning about leadership!
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