The "Do it All"
We all know them –
The people who claim: “I’ve got it under control”, the “no I never need any help”, the “I have so much going on all the time”.
When you do it all you don’t teach
Being a teacher is an important piece of leadership. It is the secret sauce that allows a leader to do more than what is asked of them. It is what provokes the best out of the people who are all working towards the same goal.
It creates a wave of opportunity for other likeminded and ambitious souls within a team.
So if you’re a doer, how will you teach?
As leaders it’s our job to provoke excitement, create motivation and build inspiration. We are the difference between others becoming teachers, or becoming doers. It’s the expectations we set, it’s the message we preach, and it’s the reaction to “doing” vs. “teaching”.
Yes, the time investment to becoming a teacher is significant.
In leadership sometimes that time investment is “not worth it”. But when those you have invested time in become the next leader and their teams become high performing entities, and now all of a sudden, YOU have time on your hands to not just teach but to learn.. it’s worth it.
Then all the years of NOT “doing” and all the time spent teaching makes your leadership worthwhile.
You can only hope one day one of those people you’ve taught are knocking on your door for a key to your office. That’s the dream. Because at that point, you have groomed someone to be the best they can be.
It’s a leader with confidence and a lack of insecurity that will give their team permission to knock on the office door and ask for a key.
I look forward to the day when I give my office away. To me that is the most impactful part of the job. It’s part of my purpose. Motivating and coaching others to be the best they can possibly be.
And in order for them to become that way, it is my DUTY as a leader to hand them opportunities. Teach them how to reach for the stars. And push them, to teach their people, because they will never make it unless they pass the torch along to those underneath them.
So don’t be a “doer”. Don’t force yourself to “do it all”.
Teach others those tough, lengthy, strategic, brain hurt tasks.
After all, once upon a time, someone took the time to teach you.
