Who is ready to lead? Someone has been promoted. Someone has left the company. Someone needs to be ready. But is that person already available or do you have to go outside the organization? That is the question.

There are a lot of highly skilled people waiting for a chance to lead. But, we all remember those great individual contributors that moved into leadership and struggled. Finding the right person is vital. But, it doesn’t have to be guess work.

The Incomplete Leadership Interview

Over the years, leadership candidates came to me ready to share their stories about leading in the past. They led project teams. They led as guest trainers at headquarters. They led sessions at team strategy meetings. They led others through a mentoring program.

I always wanted to hear those stories and always felt they showed me something about the candidate. But, it wasn’t enough to prove to me I was speaking with a true leader.

Is it enough that someone accepted the role of leader whenever it was assigned to them?

A lot of the leadership stories I heard were based on the fact that someone asked the candidate to lead. They were assigned to lead the project team. They were assigned to be a guest trainer. They were assigned to lead strategy sessions at meetings. They were assigned to be someone’s mentor.

When I was looking for the next leader, I wanted someone who led without being asked to lead!

Assuming Leadership

A leader sees the need and steps forward into the gap. A leader doesn’t wait for someone to tell them lead. They lead because they know a leader is needed. In other words, the leader I want is someone who assumes the role of leader while others wait for it to be assigned.

If I do not see that sort of initiative reflected in the stories of the candidate, I need to be careful assuming that person is a leader I want to lead my teams. I do not want to promote a highly skilled individual contributor that needs to be told when to lead.

In my mind a leader leads. Period. That shows to me the candidate has a sense of Duty that all leaders should exhibit. The definition of Duty I believe is:

Acting based on assigned tasks or moral obligations.

We have a whole chapter devoted to the habit of Duty, in my father’s and my book, Becoming a Leader of Character – Six Habits That Make or Break a Leader at Work and at Home. (Email me here: info@alslead.com if you want to notified when it is available.)

The individual contributor I want to be the next leader of a team should have already demonstrated their willingness to lead because they see it as a moral obligation and not just an assigned task.

The Bottom Line:

If I promote someone who leads only when it is an assigned task, I am setting myself up for a lot of hand holding and directive leadership.  Someone who is a leader should not need my prodding.

Sometimes we set ourselves up to be the micromanagers we never intended on being based on promoting the wrong people. I need to find the person who already has the sense of Duty to step in and lead because they understand that is their role whether they hold the title of leader or not.

If you are someone waiting on that title, I want to encourage you to step forward and begin leading! Don’t wait for leadership to be assigned. The person who leads without regard for their title will soon be recognized as a leader based on their title as well. It is a leader’s Duty to lead and not wait for leadership to be assigned.

Assuming leadership is the best way to prove you are ready for the title of leader, not waiting for someone to tell you to lead.

Question:

What can you do to lead right now, without it being assigned to you?