Mary is a strong leader. She approaches everything with confidence and determination. She makes a point to lead by example by modeling a positive attitude and a zero tolerance for failure. Mary's team sees that she has a high degree of self-esteem, enjoys being involved and thrives on taking risks and tackling challenges head on.
But Mary has a puzzling problem. She is a courageous leader with a cautious team. She struggles to make sense of their lack of enthusiasm and initiative. How can she do anything more than what she is already doing by putting on display the kind of go-getter, confident achiever she expects them to be?
Mary is certainly not alone in this frustrating scenario. An inability to rally their troops is a common complaint we hear from leaders. They are dismayed at the amount of work they take on because their team appears to be asleep at the wheel, or rarely taking it out of first gear.
Mary wonders if the only solution is to lower her expectations and continue to rely on herself to drive the team. She is beginning to believe that stepping up when no one else will is what defines leadership.
This line of self-questioning is a crucial crossroad for leaders. The breakneck pace of business seems to imply that the path of quickest gain is the road best taken. This flawed belief explains the widespread yet ineffective "done right, do it myself" leadership mentality. These leaders are making a crucial mistake.
By merely expecting their own enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity to catch on via modeling, they've unwittingly done one of three things: