I was intrigued as I looked for an image to include on my previous post of the different ideas of what leadership is, or how it is seen by different people.
I just put the query into google, searching for images associated with leadership and here are some that came up, in fact I would say these represent the majority of the images.
What I found interesting was how in each of these images the leader was seen as a bigger, a more important person than the rest of the team.
It also occurred to me that all of the bosses that I had worked for who I would call bad bosses, all of them had this view of leadership, that somehow they were bigger, better or more important than the rest of the team.
That they were a king and we were mere pawns.
That is was them who were most important, that they were carrying the rest of the team and that we were lucky to have them as our leaders.
Now whilst it’s true that by being a leader, it does set you apart from the rest, but it doesn’t make you a bigger, better or more intelligent person, it doesn’t even necessarily make you the most important.
It does put you in charge, but if you act in a way that you are special, then it will alienate you from your team.
On the contrary, all the good bosses that I have worked for, and I’d like to think I took this approach myself, they saw themselves just as ordinary people, no better or worse than anyone, the only difference was they were in charge.
They were the lead pawn, they didn’t seem themselves as kings.
It can be easy, when in a leadership position, to feel that you are special, that you are better than the others, that you are a king, but these are not the thoughts or feelings of a good leader, nor should these reflect in our actions or how we treat people.
Take a look at your own leadership style and how you see yourself, get the view of others, and find out if they see you as lead pawn, or as a king.
If it’s the latter then it’s time to take action as your on the wrong path.
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