A quick reminder: nobody can teach you how to be a leader. The only path to leadership is learning and only you the aspiring leader can do that. Learning requires action: it requires manifestation of your capabilities. It involves failure. There may be success but the outcome remains uncertain as long as the object of your leadership has not been achieved.
The best way to become a leader is to take chances which may set you up for failure, even public failure. Paralyzing fear of unpopular or uncertain options means you’re not a leader - yet. Giving a strategy of constant change a chance in your organization requires guts: it’s much easier to dismiss it.
Leaders can’t help themselves. You probably have what it takes to prevent yourself from becoming a leader which means you stick with the known. The believe is that everybody else is doing the same thing so it must be right. If you do all the right things to prevent yourself from becoming a leader you’re a pigeon: you do what the other pigeons do. Many pigeons gathered means food so that’s where you’re heading.
Learning to become a leader is taking control over your internal pigeon. You learn to train your instincts on other phenomena than what you know. The only thing to focus on then is other people. They have what it takes to be successful but what they’re missing is someone who believes in them and who trusts them with responsibility. Someone like you.
The easy way out are one-liners like: “I’m not sure if I can trust other people enough.” Or: “You can’t count on everybody doing the right thing.” This feeds you internal pigeon, keeps it healthy and its feathers shinny. Only you can learn to become a leader and not a lot can be taught. The people you can learn most from are other leaders.
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