Since I first read this quote last January, I’ve been rolling this concept around in my mind, the way you might roll a squeeze ball around in your hand. Or the way you try to pick a piece of kale out from between your molars….a performing art….hmmm
Are leaders performing? Is it an act? If we think of actors, they play a role. They are performing something they don’t do in their regular life. And, if in order to play the role they have to act in a way that stretches them perhaps way beyond their comfort zone. I suppose they say 2 things in their minds:
- It is what the role requires, and
- I am just acting.
How does this apply to leadership?
When working for someone else they often give you a role description. If it seems close to what you have done before or who you naturally are you get excited to take the challenge.
If you are the leader or creator of an organization, you have to assume the role that will make the organization successful. You may not have all the skill sets. You may have to stretch. You may need to get help or coaching. You may need to create a team around you that does things you aren’t good at. You are performing to the demands of the role.
If you have been a leader for a long time, you may be yawning about now. But, think about the role you need to be developing for yourself and others to get to the next level. If you see where your idea needs to go and you can’t see yourself in that role, get some help from your team, your board of advisors or outside resources. If you don’t have it in you anymore, then consider grooming a new actor. There may be a different role for you that keeps you in the play or has you starring in another one.
It is not personal. It just is.
Image courtesy of Smithsonian magazine from the Granger Collection, NYC