Leadership is Lonely

It was once said, “The price of leadership is loneliness.” The higher a person ascends the career ladder the fewer people there are that are willing to speak truth to the leader. The concerns of showing their weaknesses keep them at times from opening up in an authentic way. Their self-imposed loneliness is often augmented by an Executive Coach to help them find a sounding board to counsel and coach them through the difficult decisions of leadership.  

I was asked to help a leader that was in a top role in a marketing organization. Her team was responsible for several hundred million dollars of advertising spend for the company in the retail business. During our visits she confided the toll of being placed into leadership had taken on her and the team. She had been a peer to the team she was now leading and that change took her from friend to foe for many on the team. Her need to prioritize the spend for the company had alienated her team.  

The ask from me was to work with her over a year to garner the trust of the team and focus the group on harnessing their collective efforts in making the best investments to lift sales in the most impactful ways. We spent our first six months working on her. Creating her leadership story, philosophy, and values. Helping her to get clear on these items would allow her to better lead her team and gain their trust.  

After six months we started working on the team. The goal was to bring their strengths to bear on the goals for the company. By helping the leader get clear we were then able to take her team on the same journey. This aligned leader and team were able work in the subsequent year in a way that leveraged their collective strengths and built strong momentum toward the desired outcomes. This single aligned team controlled millions in spend and made better decisions together. Results across hundreds of retail locations increased same store sales driving higher top and bottom line growth.

The loneliness experienced by leaders is often a result of the leader not being clear on who they are and what they need to do to garner the support of their team.  

Summits of Success

1. Develop a leadership vision from your core values
2. Let your core values influence your team
3. Align your team around a series of team core values
4. Get out of the way and watch decisions and performance improve

For more career tips and coaching, visit www.myjobjump.com.