SOME PEOPLE TAKE LEADERSHIP, while others are given the title. Think about that in your pet business.
A company hired me to work with its leaders, from the founder — who was a brilliant man who didn’t like titles since he expected everyone to feel ownership — to all the other C-suite leaders who also didn’t have titles.
I adored working with this team. They were innovative, eager to learn and grow, and we saw huge leaps in productivity and profit.
Because the top leader was carrying much of the burden, they hired someone inside their industry to join the team and take some of the responsibilities off his plate. You may have done something similar or said to yourself, “If I could only clone myself, things would be easier!”
The new hire, a man in his middle years of work experience, got a bit sideways with the top guy when he refused him a title. “What am I then?” he asked. To which the founder said, “Worry less about what title you have, and let’s get things done.”
This man — let’s call him Kurt — would not let this go. When we coached, he wanted to spend time second-guessing the founder. When he spoke to others,s he would lament, “If I had more power, I would get more done.” He was missing the entire point that a title doesn’t give someone power. Leadership does.
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Several months later, Kurt is no longer on that team. It was painful for everyone since he was liked and respected, but he proved that he couldn’t actually lead (or so he thought) without a title.
Which brings me back to my point: Is leadership given or taken?
Think through this for a moment.
With a title comes what? More responsibility, more power, more money? Or is it your responsibility to lead regardless of those things?
You, like me, have probably been in some sort of group that was given a task, volunteering perhaps or in an association, and there are people who naturally step forward to lend a hand, take responsibility, to encourage and lead, though they were never given that job nor that title.
The others naturally follow, or if the person is a good leader, he works things through together, with everyone sharing and taking turns leading.
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You, like me, have no doubt also been in a similar situation where the actual leader was not leading, not encouraging and where things ground to a standstill or much time was wasted.
If you are like me, you might have gently stepped in to sort it out and lend a hand, since that’s what leaders do. Everyone, everywhere, can be a leader. And you don’t need a title to do it.
What you need instead of a title:
- Ability to see the goal or end result. (You know what needs to be done.)
- Courage to encourage some type of collaboration. (You can join all the talent together.)
- Skill in asking questions that bring people forth and safety for them to provide answers.
There are more traits great leaders have, but for today, what if you looked at your pet business and determined whether you have leaders because you’re providing a safe environment or title holders who are working simply because they were placed in that position? Is it time to hire more leaders?
