A Lack Of Organizational and Self-Awareness
There are countless young leaders in our world today who I see make a very common mistake. But before we get too hard on the next generation of leaders, I also see many seasoned leaders make the same mistake when they enter a new environment.
The mistake these leaders make is they often think they are experts when in reality, they are far from it.
Oh, they talk about their background or position themselves with compelling language like “having fresh eyes”. But the truth is to develop expertise in their new assignment, they need to take the posture of a learner.
As I have studied leaders over the years who have achieved expertise in their area of discipline, I have discovered a 5-step process they intuitively took from the moment they entered their career or organization to their time of mastery. The following is that process:
Potential Leaders must first go from Education to Exposure
Education is learning the facts about your area of discipline. This happens through study and research. It is a cognitive knowledge of what you are doing. These are the fundamentals. From education leaders must then moved to exposure. They began to see how the organization works and what successful leadership looked like.
The word here is Potential.
But be careful, don’t confuse exposure with expertise. Just because you may have read multiple books about Nick Saban, heard him speak countless times, maybe even attended some practices and stood on the sidelines, this does not make you a coaching expert. It simply means you have gained a knowledge of the subject and seen it in action.
Developing Leaders then move from Exposure to Explaining
In this stage the leader has gained a solid working knowledge of the organization or subject and can explain to others what is needed to be successful. The danger in this stage is you have enough knowledge to be dangerous. Your lack of experience and knowledge can often be revealed when someone asks anything beyond basic questions. The second and third follow-up questions often reveal there is much room left to grow.
The word here is Developing.
Seasoned Leaders must now go from Explaining to Experience
With enough time you then develop experience. You reach the point where you know how to do your job. Experienced leaders have been around awhile and had some success. Perhaps more importantly, they have also learned some hard lessons which can only come from failure. Some leaders may have even “seen it all” at this stage. This is what most people would define as success.
The word here is Seasoned. But the best leaders know there is still room left to grow.
Passionate Leaders then move from Experience to Excellence
With excellence we are now getting into rarified air. You see, you can be at a job for a long time and not deliver excellence. It doesn’t necessarily mean you did a bad job. In fact, you may have faithfully carried out your assignment. You just did what was asked of you.
Forget being low maintenance, these leaders are no maintenance.
But the great leaders truly make a difference. They deliver excellent work. They consistently exceed results. These type of leaders advance the organization and its mission and vision. They made things happen.
The word here is Passion. Great leaders are passionate and own the results.
But as great as these leaders are, I have seen there still remains another level.
Expert Leaders move from Excellence to Expertise
The word here is Expert. My definition of expertise is consistently-applied excellence. It is greatness over a long period of time.
These individuals have achieved mastery of their craft. They know their area of discipline inside-and-out. Expert leaders have taken this knowledge and imparted it to others. They have multiplied their knowledge through those who have followed them. Their brand is one of solutions. If a problem arises, they have the answers.
The very best leaders thus become a security blanket to all in the organization. They are duct tape and hold everything together. They very best leaders are also deodorant, they cover up everything that smells bad.
The more experts an organization has, the more successful it is.
Conclusion
When entering an organization, take an inventory of which of these five stages you are in. Many leaders, particularly new ones, often confuse education and exposure with experience, excellence, or expertise. Similarly, many seasoned leaders can confuse experience with excellence or expertise.
If you don’t know where you are at, this is understandable. Most of us have blind spots. Ask those in your organization for feedback. This will give you a baseline of performance you can begin to grow from.
And if you are humble and have a personal growth mindset, you can eventually grow from Education to Exposure to Explaining to Experience all the way to Expertise.
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