Insecure Leader...Are You?

I love John C. Maxwell’s statement, “People quit people, not companies.”  How very true! 

We’ve all experienced different leadership styles…some good…some bad.

The quality and style of a manager literally makes or breaks a company.  I’ve known (and worked for) companies who lost valuable, long term employees simply because the wrong individual ended up in management.  Before the dust settled half the sales force left to find employment elsewhere.

If you’re in a leadership role (whether it’s at work, in your church, in your peer group, or in your family) it’s your responsibility to ensure you’re equipping yourself with the tools to be the very best leader you can be.  Your team deserves no less!

What’s one way leaders can improve? 

Be secure in your role and in your identity.  When insecurity creeps into a leader’s life it’s like consuming small amounts of cyanide over a period of time.  It doesn’t kill you immediately, but you wish it would.

The next few points will help you take an internal inventory to determine if insecurity has made a home in your psyche.

• Do you need to be in control of every situation?  Do you micro-manage everyone around you?  Are you afraid to trust your team to do their job?  Do you limit your team members' freedom to come up with their own solutions to problems?
• Do you respond negatively to constructive criticism?  Do you adopt a defensive attitude?  Are you open to hearing employees’ suggestions?  Has your team stopped bringing suggestions for improvements to you?  Do you feel every comment someone makes is a personal attack (even if it isn’t)?
• Do you hang onto resentment?  Have you allowed hard feelings towards a co-worker or team member to creep into your thoughts? 
• Can you admit you’re wrong?   Do you blame others for your mistakes, or gloss over them hoping no one notices?  Do you have a hard time apologizing?

Let’s be honest, we all have insecurities.  But in a leader’s life they’re an insidious toxin! 

Did something in the list of questions above strike a nerve with you?  Identify the problem.  Call it what it is, then work towards resolution so it doesn’t become poison in your life.  You’ll end up a better leader for it.

 THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:

 

What insecurities challenge you in your leadership role?  Share your thoughts by clicking “comments” below.