Leadership is Sacrificial


Sometime ago, I heard a story about a meeting between a CEO and one of the company’s top leaders. This leader’s words caught the CEO a bit off guard: “Please make one promise to me. The moment that you see that I’m not effective here, tell me and I will leave immediately. I hope I see that moment before you do, but please tell me if you see it first. This organization is much more than me and my needs.”

The CEO considered that person to be a genuine leader, one of the great leaders in the organization. In retrospect, the CEO was not surprised at the conversation they shared.  It gives everyone in leadership pause for thought… could you or maybe said better… would you give up your job as an executive in a company for the good of the company and its employees?

A Sacrificial leader to me is the one who invests time in developing others, fights for team members' interests keeping in mind organizational goals and priorities, goes out of the way to help team members, and constantly works to provide resources to the team to meet the company’s strategic goals.

There are some things you cannot expect from your leadership. Everyone in leadership, needs to be able to nourish their inner self. You can count on those around you for many kinds of help, but there are some things you have to rely on yourself to provide.  This is the essence of sacrificial leadership.

Don’t expect people to hold you accountable as well as you can for yourself. A successful leader will always be responsible. But those you lead or even those above you can’t hold you accountable as well as you can for yourself. You know better than anyone where you’ve succeeded and where you’ve let yourself down.

Don’t expect anyone else to understand what you’re going through. Even if someone has gone through something similar, everyone experiences things differently and in a different context. People may walk the same path, but not in the same way. Spend time working to understand what’s happening in your life and what it means to you, because others will never be able to fully understand it.

Don’t expect others to be your cheerleader. Leadership is about being an inspiration for others and keeping them motivated—but you also have to do the same for yourself. You may draw some inspiration from your team, but ultimately you have to set your own goals and motivate yourself to reach them. Learn to engage your own mind and heart as well as those of others.

Don’t expect praise or recognition. The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things; it’s the one who gets their people to do the greatest things. You may or may not get praise for your leadership from others, and expecting acknowledgement from others can sometimes set yourself up for disappointment. Learn to praise others without expecting the same in return.

Don’t expect people to read your mind. If you aren’t communicating openly and regularly, you can’t get upset with those you lead for not knowing what you think. Assumptions can be damaging, so don’t put your people in a position of having to guess. If they don’t have all the information they need, that’s on you, not them.

Don’t expect your leadership to validate your self-worth. Your value lies within yourself. Other people are tuned in to their own lives. If anything, they’re busy projecting their own needs and wants onto you. But as a leader you have to learn to validate yourself first—then everything will fall into line.

If you got into leadership hoping to get something you will be disappointed, because leadership is about giving to others. That’s why it’s important to learn to care for yourself in ways that can help you honor others.

Sacrificial leadership — is not for those clawing for honor and recognition, but for those most ready to fall to their knees and be inconvenienced by the needs of others.

They are those who, in a sense, have their inner-self sufficiently in order to be able to turn their attention to helping others. Instead of pursuing their own immediate benefit, they are willing to sacrifice for others’ and the value of the company that entrusted him or her to be a
leader.

Lead from within: You can’t expect to receive much beyond your own satisfaction from your leadership, but as a leader you are expected to be your best and lead by example.

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