When you accept a leadership role, you take on extra responsibility for your actions towards others. – Kelly Armstrong
Most people who dream of a leadership position do so based on their past experiences with others in leadership positions. We tend to see the world through rose colored glasses, you probably heard of that one before. Another you’ve heard is “the grass is greener on the other side”, or at least looks so. Both are valid points for how most people see leadership positions.
But this offset view tends to have a major shift in perspective on first contact with reality. When a non leader gets a taste of the challenges and responsibilities of navigating a leadership position, well, a lot of people find it a “hard pill to swallow”.
You see, as humans we tend to have a hard time holding ourselves accountable 100% of the time. It is hard enough being responsible for just one person, ourselves, now imagine adding to that pile of responsibilities.
A person in a leadership position – notice, I did not say leader, just in the position – is someone who besides having his own tasks, challenges, responsibilities and dreams also holds all of those of the people he manages. He or she is responsible for both themselves and also the team they manage.
As you can imagine, it is not something just about anyone is prepared for, but fret not, with some good will, personal responsibility, discipline and a bit of luck, anyone can build up the necessary experience to grow into a leader and be worthy of their position.