Have You Ever Met a Reluctant Leader?

Reluctant leaders come from all backgrounds and professions. They are excellent at their craft or profession, so good in fact that business or professional growth requires managing people.

For example, meet Tricia, she started her custom cabinet business after watching her father work for another cabinet manufacturer. She learned a lot from her father and inherited his passion for design and woodworking. Tricia is an amazing craftswoman, and her reputation of creating unique inspiring pieces that met the functional needs of her clients catapulted her business growth. Now, she must hire people to help with production and installation.

And then there is Scott, he is a subject matter expert (SME) in a local human resource company. He has worked his way up from an entry level position, establishing new processes and procedures enabling the business to serve more clients. To grow within the organization, Scott will have to move out of a SME position and move into a supervisor position. The leadership team has offered him a role managing a team of new and existing peers.

What could it feel like being a reluctant leader?

Here is what Tricia says- “It is stressing me out. How will I know if they will work like me? How can I trust them to take the same care and quality focus that I have with my work and customers? I always hear other business owners complaining about their workers and dealing with “people” issues all day. I don’t have time for “people” issues, I just want to grow my business.”

Scott added- “I feel overwhelmed. These people are my teammates, how can I be their supervisor? I know some of them are difficult to work with and now I must manage them. Others are work friends and now my role is to be their supervisor. There are a lot of unknowns here and that makes it scary. What do I know about leadership?”

What could a reluctant leader do?

Tricia was able to create expectations with her new employees, not only her expectations of them but also understanding their expectations of her around performance, communication, role definitions and what each other needs to be successful. She addressed her stress by asking herself what she would want from a new leader and reflecting on the communication and behaviors of the leaders she admired most. She created the foundation for both her business and her people to be successful.

Scott asked for a mentor, someone he could reach out to for guidance as a new supervisor. He also made a list of all his accomplishments and achievements- reminding himself of how many times he faced the unknown and ambiguity and succeeded. He also recalled a quote from Brené Brown “embrace the suck”, it fits, as this is the first time he is managing others. Scott addressed his fears, imposter syndrome and boosted his confidence in leading others.

If you are a reluctant leader, reach out to someone to support you in reducing your stress, frustration and overwhelm. If you happen to lead a reluctant leader, how can you support them? If your leader is a reluctant leader, what can you do to support their growth and reduce your stress?

Enjoy your journey.

Grow your business and people together.