“Watch out for those people. You can’t trust them. You never know who is out to get you or sabotage your efforts” - Chief

Fear is one great deterrent to growth and effectiveness in leadership. You run or stop even when you shouldn’t. 

Unfortunately, fear is one key driver for the actions done in management. Most management decisions are made in avoidance of risk rather than initiated under risk. While inherent in the word “lead” is the aspect of “risk”. There is no such thing as a “risk-free” or “risk-averse” leadership responsibility. 

At a time/ period in my career when I was starting a new managerial role, I was getting advice on how to be a fearless leader, yet at the same time, I received the fear-filled advice above. Saying to me, “Always watch your back and cover your tracks.”

Lead coaching helps one recognize that Leadership is about vision and risk. It includes making the effort to continually go to the front of the team to show the way. It is, therefore, hard to walk in front of a group of people yet not expect someone (at one point or another) to kick you in the rear. In his book Leadership Gold - Lessons learnt from a lifetime of leading, John C. Maxwell has an excellent chapter titled, "When you get kicked in the rear, you know you're out in front". 

Leading comes with the risk of a “kick” associated. It also comes with a reward. You can’t expect one without the other. As a lead coach, it has become a reality check for leaders when I’m able to put two almost opposite extremes on the same expectation (in one statement) – as a leader expect a reward and also expect a kick! Simon Sinek often states, "We have no problem with our leaders eating first because they are the first to take the hit."

While leading a team, having got the advice above to watch my back, I walked in anticipation of a fight... and what a fight it was! As a new leader, it was a real “dogfight” if ever I knew one. Lessons from that fight then help me today to coach managers to grow into the responsibility of leading. It helps a leader to know that they will win some, and lose some yet still create a winning team – a high-performance team. You must choose to lead the team, not to manage the team. 

Lead coaching helps you sustain the stance of an eagle.

• Like an eagle, you will need to watch your vision. Choose to soar over the winds high enough to see clearer and further than your detractors and the challenges. Gain a way to sustain a clear view of the vision of where you are taking the team and clarity of the business result you are aiming to get. This keeps a leader ever a step or two ahead. Leading is when you are 1 step ahead. 50 steps ahead you become a martyr. As is said, “Pioneers get shot!” The issues and challenges that come up become fuel for the leader’s steps ahead. As an eagle, you can see better than the team and see beyond them. Look to see the impact of team decisions and steer them through the hurdles that come.
• Like an eagle, you need to catch your team. Get them to do even the slightest right things rather than catch the obviously wrong things they did. In my situation, I already knew there were character challenges with a significant number of team members. I determined to catch and see their potential and use what they do to steer them away from whatever caused them to miss the set mark. More importantly, as an eagle opt to catch those who resonated with the vision, those who see as I see and what I was pushing towards. It doesn't cost much for the team to catch a vision, it costs greatly to miss one or walk without vision.
• Like an eagle, you need to opt to latch onto good team members. Grip tight on those whose potential is great and only lack a coach, a confidant, a helping hand, an accountability option, a sounding board... literally, they need a leader - not a manager. Latching on means it becomes visible who were the team members I would turn to at "crunch time". It is clear why - because they stood out in their own right. I latched on to some who were not in the team, some who left the team, some who returned to the team and some who didn’t want to be on the team. That tight grip from eagle claws made it imperative that they grow and become eagles themselves as they got used to high-impact questions, calm demeanour, truth and direct pursuit of a vision.

Leading, unlike management, is a contact sport. Expect to get kicked, take it in and don’t take hostages, just soar above it. Leaders serve best in a storm as they do it with a purpose, a vision and a determination to win!

If you are looking to grow in the practical aspects of leading that will take you from being a supervisor/ manager (“super-manager”) to leading, attach yourself – latch onto a coach. Let the coaching process help you grow eagle wings to fly, sharpen eagle eyes to see a clear vision and strong eagle muscles to grip the potential leaders around you who will enable you to grab the opportunities you need to grow the venture you are in.

Bill Gates is quoted several times to have said, “Everyone needs a coach”. Who is your coach? As a leader, it is imperative to have a coach as there is no such thing as a lone-ranger leader. Get connected today. Start the great flight that creates impact.

Albert Sabwa

Lead Coach

Catalyst Leadership Life Coaches