Plan to become a better leader

You've probably heard the phrase “leaders aren't born, they're made.” As a behavioral psychologist, I have seen plenty of instances when people worked hard to become strong leaders. Unfortunately, just as often I have witnessed individuals promoted to leadership roles as a result of their “expertise” in a subject matter, rather than their ability to motivate and guide others to succeed. I have observed these individuals do little or nothing to improve their leadership skills and, as a result, ultimately fail in their roles.

These experiences have led me to the conclusion that “technical expertise” is a necessary but insufficient ingredient for leadership success. Recently in my consultation with a leadership coaching group I facilitate, members of senior management asked the question: “Do you need to be able to proficiently perform each of your employee's jobs in order to be a stellar leader?”

My answer is no. While it certainly might add to your credibility to understand the content and subject matter required by your employees to do their job well, just as important is understanding the critical factors and processes needed to remove obstacles in their path. Even more important might be your ability to motivate those who report to you to “go through the wall” to accomplish their stated goals.