“Prepare to be Alone”
In General, Powell’s Terms “Command is Lonely”
“Leadership is not rank, privilege, titles, or money. It is responsibility.”
General Colin Powell
There has been much said about “loneliness at the top”, and many related and similar expressions from, “the buck stops here” to “The boss doesn’t have any friends”. Yes, it is true that at times it is “lonely at the top”. This does not say and does not imply that you as the leader are in isolation or friendless. Lonely at the top simply put says, “at times the decision is yours”. Not all decisions are popular and certainly not all decisions are easy. To avoid decisions just because they are unpopular or the decision is difficult does not mean the leader has some license to avoid those issues.
The bottom line is; taking final responsibility is often lonely. This very simple statement is true at all levels of leadership whether you are a first line supervisor making job assignment decisions, a department head making procedure decisions, a plant manager making policy decisions or a business owner making financial decisions. In the end, you the leader own the decisions and the result. You may delegate responsibility, you may assign resources, you may seek counsel of peers, subordinates and upper management, but in the end, the hard decision is often left exclusively to the leader. This is often a burden and the individual often has a feeling of isolation or loneliness. Here the leader must rely on good communication to the organization. Now is not the time for tentative steps, misunderstanding or lack of communication. In the end, the leader is the one that must set the direction, inspire the followers, support the correct initiatives, empower the right people, set the standards and define the measures to determine success or failure.
Seldom does anyone have high levels or enormous responsibility place on them suddenly. Careers are a development process of ever-increasing levels of responsibility, thus increasing levels of risk and reward as you work your way up through the organization.
The final responsibility of success or failure of the course of action rest with the leader, you have sought advice, correlated information, assessed multiple inputs, empowered various subordinates, identified the measures, but at the end of the day rest assured “the decision is yours”. The greater the risk the greater the reward and the greater the feeling of isolation, don’t be alarmed by this feeling of isolation or loneliness, this is quite normal and should even be expected. After all, you actually asked for this leadership role. So take the responsibility and try to remember, “Success has a thousand fathers, failure is an orphan”. Do not scapegoat, do not back-pedal, step-up and take responsibility.
The greatest leaders give credit for success and take the blame for failure. In doing so you will enhance your position and following. People most often are willing to forgive mistakes that are understandable and that are owned by the responsible person. It is your choice whether you are a great leader or a manager.
“Powell Principles – By Oren Harari”
- 1. Leadership is lonely; The good leader is ready for and, always accepts the ultimate weight of decisions.
- 2. Lead by example; All employees are boss watchers. Set the example with consistency and self-discipline.
- 3. Know when to leave; When is it time to pass it on to another? Knowing when to move on is one of the leadership decisions only you can make in a timely manner. Whether you move on via a lateral transfer, promotion, job change or retirement, it is always best if you are the one making the choice and you don’t wait until you are forced out.
- 4. Leadership is responsibility; If you seek leadership you seek responsibility, if you are not ready you must reconsider. Remember; no scapegoats, no excuses, step up and take responsibility for the failure and be ready to share the success with those you empowered.
There are three books I recommend as reading to everyone that is interested in understanding the principles of leadership.
- The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell by *Oren Harari
- The Powel Principles by *Oren Harari
- It Worked For Me – In Life and Leadership by “Colin Powell”
Please talk with your peers and see if they would benefit from this series. If you think they may, please send them to the web site www.mbcincorp.com they may download the free white paper and be automatically signed up to receive all future leadership articles and quality tips.
Thanks to All
Bill Martin – President
MBC, Inc.
