Are We Looking for "Ready-Made Leaders"?
When I first introduced the “how to” series for making leadership more inclusive, I referenced an earlier post I wrote about deconstructing leadership prerequisites. When I re-read that post earlier today, I made a note to come back to a concept I referenced at the end of that post, but didn’t really explore as much as I would like. That concept is the quest to discover what I like to call the “ready-made leader”.
Finding the “ready-made leader” would be great right? Someone who dropped at our doorstep gift wrapped and ready to assume whatever leadership challenge we may in store for them. This person probably has the confidence to walk in to any situation and make others feel like they were destined to be there. This person would also have all the skills, abilities, and traits necessary to be the best leader we could ever have in the position we are looking to fill.
Another HUGE advantage to the “ready-made leader” is that we would have to do little to train them! We could forget about an intentional, learning outcome driven training program and just jump right into the doing! Let the “ready-made leader” go and watch the magic happen! Soon our lives will be transformed and we will do anything to support the direction the ready-made leader decides to take us!
As I type this, I am starting to become concerned I am coming off WAY too sarcastic. Sorry about that. The reality is that I am being incredibly sarcastic as I make my way up to the top of my soapbox. Now that I am up here, I am obligated to say – THE “READY-MADE LEADER” DOESN’T EXIST!
So let’s stop trying to find them. On top of that, naming someone a “ready-made leader” is probably something you would want to be careful to avoid. It puts an incredible amount of pressure on the leader and potential sets them up for a rough transition into the leadership role. The “ready-made leader” title also suggests everything required to be a leader was provided at birth and the development of any skills, abilities, or traits is not required. It also suggested that some have the ability to be leaders, but most would never and could never be leaders. We have come much too far in our understanding of leadership to buy in to the notion that leaders are born and not made.
I think many of us could agree that some possess some skills and strengths and lend themselves well to leadership; however, if you believe leadership is situational (as I do), how leaders need to show up will vary depending on the circumstance. Are there transferable skills, sure…but how those skills are deployed and implemented to exert leadership is a whole other story. Responding to these unique circumstances requires leadership training and experiences to hone the skills required to be successful within a given position. I also think it would be wise to mention that investing in people and retaining them within your organization is a much more sustainable mode of operation than a never ending quest to find the “ready-made” leader.
Many of the leadership junkies (as my friend Jim Love called them in his post) reading this would probably buy in to what I have been ranting about; however, I still think we have to admit that even the best of us still look for the “ready-made leader”. Someone to make our lives easier and someone we can have absolute confidence in. Having the “ready-made leader” may be nice, but it would also be an easy way out and not something that would be consistent with the educational mission of our institutions.
In many professions (especially mine lately) we have to do more with less and the idea of finding a “ready-made leader” may be more appealing than ever. At times like this, I think we need to reconnect to the idea that in many cases, our roles are to develop leaders by providing appropriate challenges to learn the skills many may not know they could possess. We also need to ask ourselves what we are looking for in leaders who we hope will assume certain roles within our organizations. What does the “ready-made leader” look like and do we need that, or would it just make our lives more convenient?
Challenging our preconceived notions of what a leader needs to be helps us set aside the unrealistic quest for the “ready-made leader” by expanding our idea of what skills, abilities, or traits are necessary for a leadership position. Embracing our role as leadership educators through bolstering training programs and other leadership education opportunities is a way to provide learning opportunities to an expanded number of people in our organizations. It is also a sustainable investment in people and their unlimited potential.
In my effort to be more tangible, let me provide some ideas for how to make this happen.
1. Stop looking for the “ready-made” leader – that person does not exist and even if they did, they would not be a perfect fit for every situation.
2. Even though they don’t exist, list the qualities you would like to see in a “ready-made leader”. Does a leader in your organization need to have these qualities? Do only certain people have these qualities? Could these qualities be developed? Answer these questions.
3. Invest in your leadership training programs. Take the answers to the questions posed above (and any others you can think of) and use your answer to inform the creation of a robust leadership development program.
4. Training or orientation does not have to only be at the beginning of the experience. Build a leadership training program over time for all leaders. Build this training program around the skills, abilities, and traits your organization values.
5. Take a chance on people! If there are people who would like to be leaders in your organization and they demonstrate the desire, get them involved. Their desire matched with your training program will help them develop into the type of leaders you need them to be.
If someone was looking for the “ready-made leader” when I was seeking job opportunities or other avenues to get involved in my community it would have been easy to pass me over. The investment others made in me and my potential has altered the direction of my life. The very least I can do is pay that forward and do my best to invest in the potential of others by providing opportunities for growth and development. I have learned an immense amount from the experiences I have gained because others took a chance on me. Rather than looking for someone gift wrapped for us, let’s invest in people with desire and potential and do what we can to develop them into the leaders we need now and in the future.
Finding the “ready-made leader” would be great right? Someone who dropped at our doorstep gift wrapped and ready to assume whatever leadership challenge we may in store for them. This person probably has the confidence to walk in to any situation and make others feel like they were destined to be there. This person would also have all the skills, abilities, and traits necessary to be the best leader we could ever have in the position we are looking to fill.
Another HUGE advantage to the “ready-made leader” is that we would have to do little to train them! We could forget about an intentional, learning outcome driven training program and just jump right into the doing! Let the “ready-made leader” go and watch the magic happen! Soon our lives will be transformed and we will do anything to support the direction the ready-made leader decides to take us!
As I type this, I am starting to become concerned I am coming off WAY too sarcastic. Sorry about that. The reality is that I am being incredibly sarcastic as I make my way up to the top of my soapbox. Now that I am up here, I am obligated to say – THE “READY-MADE LEADER” DOESN’T EXIST!
So let’s stop trying to find them. On top of that, naming someone a “ready-made leader” is probably something you would want to be careful to avoid. It puts an incredible amount of pressure on the leader and potential sets them up for a rough transition into the leadership role. The “ready-made leader” title also suggests everything required to be a leader was provided at birth and the development of any skills, abilities, or traits is not required. It also suggested that some have the ability to be leaders, but most would never and could never be leaders. We have come much too far in our understanding of leadership to buy in to the notion that leaders are born and not made.
I think many of us could agree that some possess some skills and strengths and lend themselves well to leadership; however, if you believe leadership is situational (as I do), how leaders need to show up will vary depending on the circumstance. Are there transferable skills, sure…but how those skills are deployed and implemented to exert leadership is a whole other story. Responding to these unique circumstances requires leadership training and experiences to hone the skills required to be successful within a given position. I also think it would be wise to mention that investing in people and retaining them within your organization is a much more sustainable mode of operation than a never ending quest to find the “ready-made” leader.
Many of the leadership junkies (as my friend Jim Love called them in his post) reading this would probably buy in to what I have been ranting about; however, I still think we have to admit that even the best of us still look for the “ready-made leader”. Someone to make our lives easier and someone we can have absolute confidence in. Having the “ready-made leader” may be nice, but it would also be an easy way out and not something that would be consistent with the educational mission of our institutions.
In many professions (especially mine lately) we have to do more with less and the idea of finding a “ready-made leader” may be more appealing than ever. At times like this, I think we need to reconnect to the idea that in many cases, our roles are to develop leaders by providing appropriate challenges to learn the skills many may not know they could possess. We also need to ask ourselves what we are looking for in leaders who we hope will assume certain roles within our organizations. What does the “ready-made leader” look like and do we need that, or would it just make our lives more convenient?
Challenging our preconceived notions of what a leader needs to be helps us set aside the unrealistic quest for the “ready-made leader” by expanding our idea of what skills, abilities, or traits are necessary for a leadership position. Embracing our role as leadership educators through bolstering training programs and other leadership education opportunities is a way to provide learning opportunities to an expanded number of people in our organizations. It is also a sustainable investment in people and their unlimited potential.
In my effort to be more tangible, let me provide some ideas for how to make this happen.
1. Stop looking for the “ready-made” leader – that person does not exist and even if they did, they would not be a perfect fit for every situation.
2. Even though they don’t exist, list the qualities you would like to see in a “ready-made leader”. Does a leader in your organization need to have these qualities? Do only certain people have these qualities? Could these qualities be developed? Answer these questions.
3. Invest in your leadership training programs. Take the answers to the questions posed above (and any others you can think of) and use your answer to inform the creation of a robust leadership development program.
4. Training or orientation does not have to only be at the beginning of the experience. Build a leadership training program over time for all leaders. Build this training program around the skills, abilities, and traits your organization values.
5. Take a chance on people! If there are people who would like to be leaders in your organization and they demonstrate the desire, get them involved. Their desire matched with your training program will help them develop into the type of leaders you need them to be.
If someone was looking for the “ready-made leader” when I was seeking job opportunities or other avenues to get involved in my community it would have been easy to pass me over. The investment others made in me and my potential has altered the direction of my life. The very least I can do is pay that forward and do my best to invest in the potential of others by providing opportunities for growth and development. I have learned an immense amount from the experiences I have gained because others took a chance on me. Rather than looking for someone gift wrapped for us, let’s invest in people with desire and potential and do what we can to develop them into the leaders we need now and in the future.
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