He was running a business that was bringing in nearly a billion dollars in revenue annually, and there were only a few layers between him and the chief executive officer.
He had a great salary, tons of people reporting to him, credibility in the organisation and a pretty nice annual bonus.
He was miserable.
The politics at that level of the organisation was incredibly challenging.
The expectations were extreme with respect to the amount of work that was generated, and the scrutiny on the weekly and monthly numbers was intense.
My friend was spending every moment of his 80-hour week managing, and none leading.
He had a huge organisation that counted on him for leadership and yet he was mired in the reports, the meetings and the bureaucracy.
Although he wanted to take his business to the next level and be the kind of leader that would help his team accomplish more, he had become just the opposite. He was working harder, stressing more and accomplishing less.
So he traded it all in for a frontline job that put him back in front of clients. He gave up the prestige and the nice office and went back into selling. He couldn't be happier.
His peers were a little shocked at first, and there was an awkward period where he found himself explaining why multiple times a day.
But he is settling into the role and becoming more of a leader than he was able to be in the big job.
His new peers and others are coming to him routinely to ask how they should handle challenging clients or to understand the products better.
He has had managers pull him aside to get a little advice on a tough situation with a team member and advice on how to move up the corporate ladder.
In our last conversation, I was struck by how much more of an impact he felt like he was having on the business now than when he was running it.
He is making sales, helping others, creating momentum instead of drafting presentations, preparing for meetings and answering e-mail.
I walked away from our conversation with a few key thoughts about leadership that were driven home for me as we talked:
If you're not having fun, you can't lead for long
If you are not enjoying the journey and getting some satisfaction from what you do, then it is impossible to lead others in any sustainable way.
People want to follow people who have a great attitude, start their day with energy and cause others around them to be more positive.
I have never known anyone who worked that way if they were miserable. You can fake it for a while, but it requires more energy than most people can muster over the long haul.
You can lead from anywhere
It does not matter what your title is, how big your office or your pay cheque is or how many people you command.
Leadership is often about making a difference one person at a time, and you can do that from any position or pay grade.
Alignment matters
Sometimes, the organisation's definition of leadership and yours are different, and when that happens, you either have to get them aligned, or get out.
This does not apply just to big businesses. I have known small business owners who thought leading their company would be very different once they get up and running.
Their challenge is to make adjustments that allow them to lead the way they set out to instead of getting caught up in the activities that soon create an environment where the business is leading them.
Enjoy the trip
Leadership should be fun, rewarding and leave you feeling well used up, but satisfied, at the end of the day.
If that is not how you are feeling, then leadership gets very difficult and you are probably not doing it very well.
When you are focused on the misery of your own situation, it is impossible to help others look at all the exciting possibilities in theirs. Figure out what changes you need to make, and then get moving.
If you are not enjoying the trip, chances are the people who are supposed to be following you aren't either. |
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