10 Things Young Leaders Need to Succeed
Old leaders, who cling to leadership, limit their legacy. The Success of young leaders is the future of organizations.
Act like you’ll be gone next year.
Rigor:
Call for commitment.
The image below is Shackleton’s ad for sailors to undertake a polar expedition. 5,000 sailors applied for 28 positions.
Self-awareness:
Clear the path to self-awareness for young leaders. Explain what they look like to others – in the light of what they want to look like. Work to bring inner perceptions into alignment with external. It’s harder to know yourself than you think.
“I’m just being myself,” is inadequate, when others misunderstand who you are. Inadequate views of authenticity causes young leaders to minimize the importance of leadership presence, for example.
Indulgent views of authenticity causes young leaders to minimize the value of adapting to others. It’s dangerous to lose yourself to the expectations of others. On the other hand, unnecessary offense or confusion hinders success.
Experienced mentors give young leaders the opportunity to engage in self-reflection – in the presence of someone else. Self-delusion is easy.
Self-affirmation is easier than taking responsibility.
10 things young leaders need to succeed:
- High personal standards. Low standards lead to mediocrity.
- Clarity regarding challenges. Making it easy, when its difficult, frustrates and disappoints.
- Ability to transition through disappointment and frustration to positive action.
- Real, meaningful responsibility. Young leaders don’t realize you’re putting political capital on the line for them, when you give them authority. Do it anyway. Let them do things where failure matters.
- Environments where it’s safe to try and learn.
- Behavioral solutions to leadership failures.
- A “one of,” not, “one above,” attitude.
- Responsibility, not entitlement.
- Experienced leaders who believe in them.
- Affirmation and constant feedback. Encourage them to give themselves feedback on their own performance.
Bonus: Young leaders need mentors, not meddlers.
How do old leaders help young leaders succeed?
Added resource: “Leading at The Edge: Leadership Lessons from the Extraordinary Saga of Shackleton’s Antarctic Expedition,” by Dennis N.T. Perkins
Love the comments about self-awareness! Spot on!
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Thanks Roy. I was going to make it part of a short list, but it begged for more room. Glad you found it useful.
Absolutely!
Dan, I like 1 and 9. I am always amazed that when you set a high standard, leaders will rise to the occassion and it works even better when you support them and show them you believe in them. I always think about that example in “Good to Great” of the track coach that set higher standards for the track team and she didn’t make her team smaller, she made it bigger and better. In a good way, ignorance is bliss for young leaders, they don’t know any better so they just get it done.
Thanks Patrick. Your last line is powerful. Let young leaders try stuff you are afraid to try. 🙂 … Stick by their side in the process.
Spot on. Especially Seniors needing to know when to go in the interest of an organisation.
Thanks Dr. Tahir. Letting go is more difficult than taking hold.
Dan!!!!! Show Shackleton and not the rest of the story!!!
Oh the Humanity!!!! Lol
Great free videos on youtube!!
Shipwrecked for two years in the arctic and not one died!!!!
THAT is the result of hiring based on getting folks who believe what you believe.
Everything else is rubbish, ie 80% employee disengagement!
Number 5 only one that is important. Promise! Want proof? The Biology of Belief, free on youtube, go look for yourself.
Epigenics prove environment is the determining factor in proteins, cells. We are huge amounts of cells. We are influenced by our environment. Cutting edge stuff, check it out.
This is why who and where we work is so important. And why working with those who believe what we is so critical.
Need massive oxy production during the day not cortisol.
All very easy to understand if you open your mind.
Great stuff today Dan. Hope you encourage everyone to get the rest of Ernest Shackeltons story. Amazing story.
SP
EA
Thanks Scott. Like Jim Collins says, “Get the right people on the bus.”
Yes agree 100% and Shackleton best example ever!!!!!!
Great video on youtube, a bunch of them actually.!!!
Dr Bruce Lipton…Epigenetics great stuff too.
Know Thyself.
SP
EA
The others on this list aren’t rubbish and having everyone who believes what you believe is a bullet train to medioricty. Diverse points of view are critical for every organization to be game changers. Check out 5 Dynsfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni.
JP, you have the right to your opinion, as do I. I stand completely behind mine. 80% employees hate their jobs. 17 Trillion in debt, the USA. Now when you understand what the function of the environment is with proteins…….it is the whole thing. If the environment is off, nothing else matters because the cell development is off. Shackelton and his 28 sailors all living is PROOF of exactly what I am saying, period. Hiring on beliefs in common is the single most important thing. Hiring people who believe what you believe, not degrees, experience any other of those things are ALL RUBBISH. Why? Because that is what Shackleton DID and they ALL LIVED.
That is the same with people because they are just a bunch of protein cells. It is like starting the foundation of the house……that is why everything else that follows is RUBBISH if the foundation is not right. The environment we work in is everything…..that is off, nothing else will over compensate that grave error.
I STRONGLY suggest you watch what Dr Lipton has to say……THEN you have information with which to share an informed opinion. Until then just have a chance to share how much you do not understand what I am talking about.
Thanks for your feedback much appreciated. You get a thumbs up for the feedback.
SP
EA
Many of us are “young leaders” but are middle aged or older. We’ve hung onto our values while many of our past and current colleagues have “gone with the flow”, gotten lazy, or just got tired of fighting the almost overwhelming wave of mediocrity of what some business pass as acceptable “leadership”. Let’s not confuse young leaders with young people only. Some of us took a bit longer to get savvy with people skills but we hung onto our values often sacrificing our advancement in our own careers to do so.
Thanks Michael. I see similarities between young and new leaders. I also see differences. You have emotional maturity, for example. You also understand the ramifications of your actions better than young leaders. However, you are right. There are similarities between young and new, regardless of age.
Another excellent post, Dan. I can relate to all ten points. Numbers 9 & 10 resonate with me most, though. It seems the context of your post pertained to senior/junior leader relationships within the same organization. I can see it from another angle, too. For me, having senior leaders who believed in me, mentored me, and affirmed me has helped me tremendously…even now! I’m grateful I’ve had more than one person to do those things for me and those guys are still providing those necessities to this day as mentors outside my respective organization. In fact, as I think about it, your post was not only great for young leaders, but all ten points could work for evolving leaders who have decades of leadership behind them but are constantly growing and taking on new risks and responsibilities. May we never outgrow the excellent insights you’ve provided! Thnx, Dan!
“It’s harder to know yourself than you think.” <——–the most important sentence in this entire post Dan (which is excellent as usual btw 🙂 ) because everything comes from there. I wrote an article recently http://gisellehudson.com/2014/05/29/excuses-are-the-poison-of-low-performance/ recently, where I quoted Bestselling author of Thick Face, Black Heart, Ching Ning Chu – “At first blush, the idea that you could not know yourself sounds ridiculous. But the odds are you don’t. We aren't talking about the superficial stuff like the way you wear your hair or your taste in music. The “REAL YOU” means the way you react to difficult situations, what you worry about, and how you view the world – the things that HELP or HURT you in your business and personal life.”
Great reply, I’m always fighting with knowledge of thyself. If only I could get just a bit of that knowledge every year-I guess awareness is the key…
Thanks Giselle
Old leaders help young leaders by leading by example, by serving others, and by giving young leaders the opportunity to succeed and fail.
I really like the list. Number 4 is something that the young leaders manager needs to manage very carefully. Putting political capital on the line for someone puts both your and their reputation at risk, so its important to give as much slack as possible, but you also need to know when to pull back. Letting someone spiral into failure as a learning experience too early on can destroy confidence of the young leader in themselves and ruin their credibility with others.
Well stated Dan.
Diana
Good afternoon Dan;
May I add Number #11, an older experienced leader willing & ‘Worthy’, of Mentoring the young leader with compassion and commitment
Cheeers Dan
SGT Steve
I wish someone had sat me down when I became a leader in an organization and talked through what you wrote about Self-Awareness. Now that I am leading others I will definitely be using that material with younger leaders! So Good