From Doer to Leader

Have you ever known a leader who was not dependable? I don’t think I have–for long. This is one of those leadership traits that is self-evident to me. After all, leaders have to deliver–for their team, for their boss, for the organization as a whole. And, too, leaders get to the position of leadership by being dependable. They didn’t get there by not getting to work on time or not producing on time and on budget. They got there by doing. By making it happen. By staying late and coming in early–getting it done no matter what.

But being a dependable employee and being a dependable leader are not the same thing. The personal responsibility of being a good employee gets harnessed to the corporate responsibility of being the leader–and that’s often a horse of a different color. As a leader now, that employee who was previously only responsible for herself now has to look to her team–its product, its reliability, even its budget. Often new leaders aren’t prepared for this having never been trained to lead a team. Developing this skill set is an uphill climb–balancing your individual needs with that of the team’s is a delicate act of taking care of yourself and your people–all while getting the mission done for the organization and the boss.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with being dependable. There is a great need for reliable, solid folks out there in every profession, trade, nonprofit, church, school, and organization. Dependable keeps the lights on, pays the bills and is the first one there when things go sideways, as they often do. 

But does it have to be you? All the time? Do you have to be the one to author the info paper? To input the data? Do you have to be the one to stay late every night? I firmly believe this is why so many folks say they struggle with burnout–they “dependabled” their way right into it. Doing all that work and never saying no will do that!

Does any of this sound familiar? Did you, in your journey to leadership, get here by being dependable, by working hard and not asking for help? By being the “go to” employee? Again, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being dependable as the “go to” member of the team.

After all, who gets asked or tasked with the hard stuff? Certainly not the folks who might flake out or find every excuse to not make it happen on time. Definitely not the folks who constantly ask the boss to solve their problems for them no matter how small they are. No, the folks who get the tasks (and often the promotions) are the ones everyone knows will get them done, on time and on target. 

As you reflect on your story so far, are you still as reliable as you once were? Sweet. But is the reliability that got you here getting in the way of you leading? Are you doing it all by yourself as you once did as an employee or are you able to delegate?

Now let’s look at it from a different angle: do you do more than you lead? Are you stuck in the weeds when you should be looking out past the headlights for the next big thing? Leaders are doers, no doubt. True leaders lead from the front. But they also let their team work on a project so they as the leader can think, strategize, and set a vision. In short, lead.

So how do you manage the competing demands here? Work harder? Do it all yourself?

Micromanage to the point of personal burnout or resentment on the part of your team? 

I think many of us have. Maybe we didn’t commit every one of those “sins” but certainly enough of them to feel the impact–it only takes one. Too many folks get promoted to a level where they can’t do it all by themselves. And in trying to do it all themselves, they burn out. The best way I have heard it put is: “what got you here won’t get you further”. So instead of doing it all themselves, leaders learn to delegate and check in on their teams. They go from making it happen themselves to making sure it happens through the efforts of their team. 

Making the switch from doer to leader is anything but intuitive. One day you are there to make the sale, deliver the goods, build your piece of the enterprise. The next, you are in charge of a team of folks who make the sale, deliver the goods, and build the whole enterprise. It can be disorienting as well as daunting. All of sudden, you are responsible not just for yourself, but your team as well. That means not only making the mission happen day in and day out, but looking after your team so that they can do it day in and day out. So on the days that Sarah coaches her daughter’s soccer team or Tom has therapy, some adjustments will have to be made. You may have to do more than lead on a day like this. Other days, not so much.

So take a step back and see if you are doing the work yourself or if you are delegating properly–with properly understood guidance and room for your folks to run. Then check in to see if anything has changed at reasonable intervals. This can be done at regularly scheduled  meetings or check ins. It can also be done via “leadership by walking around”, getting out of the office and walking to where your team is–their desks, the conference room, the break room. Often these are more accurate gauges of what’s going on with the work being done (or not done) because your team members will be more relaxed and may just tell you some unvarnished truths. This can be hard to hear, so make sure you are ready for it, but your listening to them will go a long way–and you may just learn something. 

And remember as well that dependability as a leader flows both ways. Your team needs to know when you will be there for them, when you will physically be at work (not all the time but most of the time) and when you will not (piano recital, business trip, anniversary). You will need to be dependable in your decisions, your temperament, and your overall vibe. When I was a company commander in Germany, my lieutenants would ask me how much coffee I had before telling me bad news because I told them one morning after physical training that I needed at least two to be able to deal with it. Not a bad practice if you think about it. I had a battalion commander in Germany who would leave work to be with his family at 5 every day. As annoying as that was as a staff officer and subordinate commander, because a whole lot of work gets done in the Army between 5 and 7 PM, it was something on which I could rely, so I worked around it.  

Look at how dependable you are to your team. Do you leave and arrive at work around the same time daily? Can your team count on you to let them know when you aren’t reachable? Do you make your decisions based on values, regular criteria, or how you feel that day? The more consistent you are and the more consistently you communicate with your team, the better off everyone will be.

Another discipline vital to good leadership is not relying on the same team member to accomplish every task. A good check to do on a regular basis is to see if you constantly go to the one on your team you know will make it happen to the exclusion of others in whom you don’t have as much confidence. This is a tricky one to be sure. Some things are time sensitive and must be done to standard–those are the times you might have to call on your “go to” employee. But other times? All the time? 

This is all too often an easy out for leaders. It’s just easier to call your star player’s number and know it’s going to get done than to go with someone else you may have to coach through it. Often leaders don’t have the time for that. 

One way to know if you are delegating effectively is to see if someone on the team is allowed to put in a day and go home while someone else is working more than their fair share.

Maybe a hard look at the calendar might yield some time to task more equitably with time allotted to coach the folks who need a little more help through to task completion? This serves the dual goals of spreading the peanut butter over the whole team and developing the team so that your one or two star players can take a breather now and then–or even be out sick or in training. Plus, a better trained team is a more capable team. 

I get it, that doesn’t always work. Issue avoidance is one way to handle issues, no doubt. But maybe rather than punitive measures or avoidance, some folks on the team need to be challenged, led to be more dependable. Some of them may never have been given a chance. Maybe it’s time. That’s on all of us who claim to be leaders–work with the team you have, not the team you want. And develop the team you have been entrusted with–make them better employees and leaders if they are willing.

That goes for you, too, as the leader. Are you working harder and more hours than your team because you don’t delegate effectively? Working more hours as a leader comes with the job, but have a look at why you are working more hours. Are you delegating effectively so that you can accomplish your tasks?

For instance, are you able to look “up and out”? A leader has to balance how much time she looks “down and in” or at the team and its members and output with “up and out”--up the chain and outside of the scope of what they are doing right now–maybe for the next opportunity, maybe to see what else they can do where they are now, maybe just to plan the next quarter. This delicate balance is often where good leaders and great leaders get separated like wheat from chaff.. 

And with all this, are you asking for help where you need it–both up and down the chain. Be honest. Your boss wants you to succeed, so does your team. I’ll bet there are folks looking to take something off your plate–either to help you or to help themselves, but it frees you up to get stuff done. But don’t “dependable” your way to burnout and an early retirement. Take care of yourself–spend time with your family and with yourself so you can recharge (the work will still be there when you get back). You’re a leader for a reason, give your team a chance to work without you. You never know what might happen when the team is stressed and has to rise to the occasion.  

It’s a long way from being a doer. Now you’re a leader. It’s not for everyone, but for those who choose it, it is the most rewarding of paths.