Some leaders have trouble getting good people to stay. Why? In my experience, there are lots of reasons. Some of them are –
The leader is unfair. Playing favorites and acting with incomplete information, or just making the wrong call for personal reasons.
The leader is cold and stand-offish. It may be just shyness, or he may feel he is better than others or just doesn’t see the need to talk to his people or be nice and smile at them.
The leader is unwise. He makes bad calls, doesn’t see things clearly and has no plan for the future.
The leader is inconsistent. He is happy one day but could go into a rage if something doesn’t go his way. He says go this way one day, and that way the next.
The leader doesn’t appreciate me. He takes all the credit and never acknowledges others.
As a leader, you may have some good qualities but over time, your weakness sets the height of your success. Managing is a science, but leading people is an art.
The first step to being good at that art is to care about people.
Natalee, Zac, Brandon I’d like to make them feel part of the network
They will be the future
Leaders need help. They are regular people bearing an extraordinary amount of responsibility on their shoulders. They struggle. Because they are constantly in front of the wall they become hard, cruel and sometimes unstoppable.
They forget to listen to their better self. But they are no different from you or me, except the load they carry is much heavier. Sometimes reaches a point of choking the air out of their lungs.
They have a heart, friends and family. For a change be the one who stands up, faces them, and tells them ‘I can see your struggle’. ‘Please allow me to help you’ and thank them for their effort.
Without a leader to follow, most of us end up sitting home alone, thinking about the best way to make an income to sustain ourselves and the family.
This is a great post. My only constructive criticism is to remember that a leader can be a “he or she.” And a friendly reminder to other leaders is to lean on each other – it is a lonely role with great responsibility. You are not alone.