“A clown who enters a palace does not become a king, they turn the palace into a circus” – Proverb

Years ago, I saw a vibrant team utterly crushed by the promotion of the wrong person.

Within three months:

• Two top team members moved on
• Productivity stalled and innovation with it.

The reason was simple.

They promoted someone who simply was not a leader.  Should that person have been promoted based on skill and contribution, yes, into a leadership role, absolutely not.

“With great power, comes great responsibility” – Peter Parker

Leadership is not a reward.  It is a responsibility. To the company, to the leader’s peers and those led by them.

Leaders should not:

• Micromanage – empowerment is the fuel of an effective team
• Take credit for the team’s work – leading the team is not doing the work
• Throw the team under the bus – you are Accountable for the team, lead by example, shield the team and work on the improvements in house
• Behave unprofessionally – leave the politics, backstabbing and gossiping to others, you must be a role model

The buzz word these days is ‘servant leader’ and that is exactly what you want, someone who wantsto lead with service over someone who just wants power?

The lesson? Not everyone should lead. And that is okay.