Tom Peters never lets us down. However, this quote is too easy to just nod along to without knowing the implications. There are some serious nuances that are worth exploring.
The spirit of the quote is right on. If you buy into this ideal as a manager than the implications are real:
- It changes the way you see your direct reports. No longer can they be seen as cogs in the machine or your team that just must do your bidding as the leader but as highly competent and motivated people who can accomplish mighty tasks. Seeing them this way in turn changes how you treat, develop and hold accountable your direct reports.
- It adds a higher level of respect towards them. As well as a higher level of expectations.
- It gives more hope to you knowing that you have a formidable team behind you that will deliver results and can free you up to spend more time on more strategic and impactful work.
- Reminds you how you should be treated by your boss.
- Encourages you to not only start preparing your backfill but developing multiple options.
- Doing all these things will make you a manager that most everyone will want to work for.
- Ther are more benefits for you to come up with. What do you think?
- And don’t ever forget, if you are a director or above you are actually leading leaders.
But this quote also leads to other questions to think through and opens to door to the naysayers:
- Can/Should everyone really be a leader? Yes, but what differentiates this is the scope of responsibility. At minimum people should be excellent at leading themselves. People who lead themselves well at work deliver results, are great teammates and are key to success. Some folks also desire to lead beyond themselves at work leading projects and special initiatives also working for future responsibilities through promotion. Note that not everyone is working hard and fast to go up the leadership ranks as quickly as possible. This does not mean they are not driven. It just means they have different desires and priorities. If someone wants more responsibilities at work, they need to grow additional attributes to lead, inspire, rally, coach and make the decisions etc. Keep in mind that leadership is not a title but who the person is.
- Does Peters mean everyone on the team needs to get promoted up into management positions over time? Well, there are limited promotions in any company. I was fortunate to see and meet Peter Drucker a few times. At one of his lectures, he commented that the glass ceiling is for all people in any organization as there are fewer and fewer jobs available as you go up the hierarchical ladder— there is only one CEO per company. So, by nature not everyone can be promoted to the highest echelons. But as a manager you can do a lot. You can increase responsibilities in place, coach and mentor them, and help them with their overall career even if it means leaving the company. When people are looking to get promoted, they will take advantage of the increase of job scope in place and eventually get promoted internally or in time they will look to get promoted somewhere else, they will start their own company, and/or they will engage in leadership endeavors outside of work.
- Shouldn’t we be more realistic about people? Now it would be far too easy to chastise this question. The easy answer is that everyone is awesome and has enormous potential in them and it is the role of the leader to tap into this. Which I believe but I also know life is rarely perfect at any moment. So as with many things I would start reaching for the ideals and manage things as they come to you.
- But isn’t it better to have great followers to do the work without questioning everything? Sad to say some managers just want weak players and reports who will blindly follow what they say. Of course this kind of manager is not a leader at all- just a low-grade tyrant of sorts. Certainly not tapping in the best that people have to offer. The good news though is that great leaders also make great followers based on the situational need.
- If everyone is trying to be a leader, then no one is really leading right? This can happen but shouldn’t. There is a difference between being a leader and leading at that moment. Clarity on roles and responsibilities in real time is always necessary. Good leaders, when appropriate, can make great followers as stated above as long as they understand the plan, the why and what they are needed to contribute.
- Do you really want all A-players and leaders on a team, isn’t it good to have a few steady -eddies that will stay for a while and not leave or constantly push to get promoted? This is a very practical way to look at things but even so, it is important to treat the steady eddies like leaders just recognizing that they are happy with their current scope of responsibilities. Treat them and everyone well without taking them or anyone for granted. Artificially keeping someone in place because they do a good job never ends well.
- Is it even possible to get all A-players these days? Recruiting in today’s world is very interesting. We are well beyond the simple War for Talent amid social movements like the Great Resignation and the Anti-work Movement. So, what can you do about it? Be a great leader as great leaders who develop others and treat their reports like leaders tend to be talent magnets. People want to work for great leaders. Also, it is more than possible to convert some B-players by treating them as A-players. Maybe not everyone but more than you think.
- As the manager, don’t I have to maintain control? Yes, stay in control but do not be controlling. It is good to share leadership responsibility with your direct reports as a manager. There are simple ways to do this such as rotating who runs meetings, putting people in charge of important projects, or a myriad of other ideas. Just remember though, in the end the buck stops with you.
- As the manager, don’t I have to maintain control? Yes, stay in control but do not be controlling. It is good to share leadership responsibility with your direct reports as a manager. There are simple ways to do this such as rotating who runs meetings, putting people in charge of important projects, or a myriad of other ideas. Just remember though, in the end the buck stops with you.
Is this quote just an impossible paragon to shoot for or is it possible? I guess it depends on your personality and the context. In the end it is a good ideal to shoot for. It is also valuable to think about the tensions that exist when you read it. The lesson here is precisely the purpose of Deep Dive-in’ Quotes, it is not enough just to read a quote, share a quote or use a quote to bring home a point. One must really ponder its message and power. Ultimately this quote’s value will depend on what you read into it and the context of it, all of this making the process of thinking about the quote as important than the quote itself.