Tenet of Leadership #10: Become redundant
Why is it that some leaders focus on training their successors and others don’t? Is it just a matter of feeling the press of current work, the tyranny of the urgent? Sometimes it is. And yet, in some cases, it has more to do with a leader’s self-image and level of self-confidence. In the same way, some leaders always look to hire people better than themselves, and others feel less comfortable in doing this. How comfortable are you in creating or hiring your replacement? Do you have the confidence that this produces new opportunities for you? Do you have the continuity of the organization foremost in your mind, or are you worried about the impact hiring your own likely replacement would have on your career?
I believe that the best leaders are those who have the self-confidence to work themselves out of a job, knowing that by doing this, they are just freeing themselves for bigger and better things. The best leaders hope their successors will outperform them, and they teach others everything they need to know to accomplish this. The best leaders don’t hold others back. Instead, they praise the accomplishments of their successors, and they lift them up.
We have all heard about apparent superstar leaders who seem to have everything … intelligence, charisma, passion, and energy. They drop into the war zone and start driving corrective action. And then, more often than not, within a couple of years they are off to climb the next rung on their career ladder, leaving behind a vacuum in leadership. These leaders are less concerned about the long-term impact of their work and more concerned about where it will take them next. But a leader’s impact on an organization should be measured over time. Were you a “flash in the pan,” or did you drive real, sustainable change? The only way to create a sustainable impact is to leave behind a legacy of excellence in leadership and management. The time and energy invested in growing the capabilities of an organization’s managers is perhaps one of the most essential and rewarding investments an organization, and an individual leader, can make. So, my advice is to teach and leave a legacy of leadership and management excellence through others. Become redundant so you can prepare for your next challenge.
Larry Pendergrass commented:
In response to Chris Gammell: I completely agree with you about how the focus on short term profits can (but doesn’t have to) cause leaders to undercut the long term as they try to accomplish short term goals. The pressure is very high to do just that. For public companies, and due to change over the years in the patience of the typical investor, the focus is very much as you describe.
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But in spite of this pressure, I believe leaders need to work to balance the short and the long term health of the business. This means consideration of the needs of at least four groups: those of their shareholders, those of their customers, those of their employees and even those of their vendors. (Note that this is in contrast to what you will hear in most business schools… that the only responsibility of management is to the shareholders. And this would be true if all you cared about was the short term. That is, after all, all the shareholders typically consider.)
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As you have said, training your successors is part of creating a sustained leadership model for the company and serves the long term more than the short term. Those who are trying to create a sustainable company care about making themselves redundant through hiring and training the next leaders.
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I also agree that the teacher can gain as much during the process as those he or she trains. It is an especially wonderful and fulfilling process for those who understand that we all benefit by making those we touch stronger than ourselves.
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Thanks for the comments Chris.
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Larry Pendergrass
Chris Gammell commented:
I think the "the press of current work [and] the tyranny of the urgent" you speak of could be summed up in the following manner: quarterly profits. When the institution is focused on short term gains, who needs the training of long term leadership? When instead the company has their eyes on a goal while maintaining integrity....well, they probably aren't the ones who need charismatic leaders dropping into their "war zone"! The long term focus companies don't usually have the same problems as the ones only looking towards the next 10k filing.
I often find that I learn the most when trying to teach others. While I've never held a position of real leadership in the corporate world, I can only imagine that this is the same for teaching your successors. Everybody wins, including those who enter the organization under your leadership legacy.
savroD commented:
With all due respect Larry, the so-called "leaders" of today are long on sociopathy and short on humanity, in my humble opinion. Nice tenet though. I'm buying it!
