What is your definition of success? Based on your life experiences, you and I likely have different measurements for success. Some people want a big house and a big car. Some people just want to be debt-free and financially independent, able to make decisions without the worry of paying their bills. Some people are motivated by balancing the stress of work and personal life. And others, are working only to finance their next adventure. To be successful, we must lead at some level, or we likely won’t achieve our goals for success no matter what they may be. Please don’t misinterpret what I’m saying, though. This does not mean that you need to manage the business in order to lead. These are two completely different things. I manage my team, and I’m responsible for their success. But, I expect my team to lead me as well.
When I recruit new members for my team, I select people who align with the core values of our business. They’re expected to own their performance, as well as to work with me to help me organize myself to enable them to achieve their goals.
When we think about leading, we can’t have this conversation without defining what it is to be humble. Being humble is a natural part of leading. They go hand in hand. Many of us grow up thinking that being humble is about how little space we can take up. The problem with that theory is that when we put effort into taking up very little space, things roll over to others that should have remained on our plate. It’s also not about how much space we can take up either, because then we push and squeeze others out that could be valuable contributors. So, how do we achieve Humble Leadership?
We have to pursue our exact God-given space. What are your talents? Are you self-aware of the value you can bring to the table based on the things you are great at and the things that naturally align with your motivators?
Think back to what inspired you to get into IT in the first place? Was it the creative medium in code development? Was it the challenge of having something broken and fixing that problem so that you can save somebody’s day? Was it the creative and design part of being an architect that drives you to see something become real from a drawing you created?
Whatever motivated you to get into your career in the first place, there are aspects of those responsibilities that align with the projects you are working on today. How do your contributions align with your humble design? Once you know that, as a leader, are you working with those around you to complete your projects by aligning your gaps with their strengths? Are you aligning your strengths with their gaps on other projects?
And now that you have recalled what initially motivated you into your IT career and you are reflecting on your strengths, what are your passions? Do you have a testimony for your career? Can you connect your passion in your career with clarity to what motivates you?
When you can do that, you are enabled with a foundation to drive decision-making and assert your goals and measurements to success; from your seat and that of your organization.
