The Colonel said, “Leaders don’t look for recognition from others; leaders look for others to recognize.”
Near the end of my term as president of a non-profit foundation award committee, I made a joke to Dad about how the awards should all go to me because I had worked harder than anyone else on the committee or in the arts community that particular year. “Wrong,” was The Colonel’s response. “As president, it’s your job to work harder than anyone else. Don’t look for recognition for that. It’s part and parcel of the title.”
Few people step into leadership because they want to hide in the shadows. I don’t think wanting to be acknowledged is about an over-inflated ego. I think it’s a fairly normal and natural desire to be recognized for our hard work and our successes. Leaders, though, have to rise above that very natural desire. What we need to be constantly aware of is that recognition comes in many forms. It’s not always immediate, and it might not be public. Recognition of successful leadership may very well come in intangibles—in the form of an amazing corporate culture and high productivity or spin-off leaders.
When things go well, it’s imperative to give credit and accolades to everyone who had even the smallest part in that success. When you consistently and genuinely recognize others for the team’s success, it creates a desire in them to repeat that success and generates long-term results. That long-term result will always, in one form or another, be accredited to the leader.
It’s not the leader’s job to get the recognition, but to give the recognition. Besides, if you are always focused on helping your team look good, they will invariably make you look good as well.
Read Lauren’s Whitepaper on The Nine Essentials of Significant Leadership.
