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Also a great read along these lines is "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership" by John Maxwell, which I'm close to finishing currently. Maxwell claims that lea

by claar 10y ago

Also a great read along these lines is "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership" by John Maxwell, which I'm close to finishing currently. Maxwell claims that leadership is influence, not authority. When I became a co-founder, I thought that made me a leader. But as PG's excellent post and Maxwell affirm, leadership is quite distinct from positional authority -- and is much more difficult to attain. Speaking directly to this post, I found that rating myself against Maxwell's "21 laws" was a sobering and likely accurate gauge of my leadership ability.

jkaljundi 10y ago
Years ago we had a board meeting, me being a youngish co-founder. We were talking about founder titles. I remember forever Esther Dyson as an investor and board member telling me then, that the titles do not mean much. You can be a great leader inside your company without any titles or official role - this is what you should aspire for. And you can be a CEO/CXO/VP without being a leader at all.
- walterbell 10y ago
  Variation of the same sentiment: ask a difficult question and see who everyone in the room looks towards for an answer. That person is the leader.
- user5994461 10y ago
  Higher title = ensure that people will listen to you for the first minute when you address the audience and/or ensure they'll come at all. Higher title = better pay It also has some drawbacks but that's a different topic.
  - ktRolster 10y ago
    If you have leadership skills, you can help lead your company, even from a low-end job title. However, it can take years to build up respect from management in that position. If you have a high title, you get a level of respect immediately (whether you deserve it or not). It goes a lot quicker.
    - drusenko 10y ago
      I think it's a bit more nuanced. If you have a high title, you get people's attention immediately, but it takes time to earn their respect, and the two are quite different.
      - jimbokun 10y ago
        Sure, but attention may be a prerequisite to respect. How can gain respect if others don't know who you are or what you are contributing?
  - mahyarm 10y ago
    Having the official authority to do something can just make things a lot faster. People may agree with you, but will want to check with their manager first anyway. If you have title authority, then they don't need to 'check with their manager' or equivalent.
- bcbrown 10y ago
  That was something that really bugged me about this essay. It says it's for "leaders", but it's really addressed to CxOs. I was hoping to get some useful insight into becoming a better informal leader, but there was very little applicable.
  - GrinningFool 10y ago
    I think that the attributes mentioned also scale down to fit any leadership role. That said, it's really kind of "well, yeah, of course". Generally if you have integrity, vision, and the trust of the people you work with (or who work for you), you're going to be perceived as a leader among that group of people.
humanrebar 10y ago
> Maxwell claims that leadership is influence, not authority. When you're setting the raises, bonuses, and assignments, authority is (very blunt) influence. I've seen many coworkers do obviously dumb things because the boss wanted them to do it that way. They shrug their shoulders and say, "I just work here". It's not obedience out of respect or loyalty.

by claar 10y ago

jkaljundi 10y ago

Years ago we had a board meeting, me being a youngish co-founder. We were talking about founder titles. I remember forever Esther Dyson as an investor and board member telling me then, that the titles do not mean much. You can be a great leader inside your company without any titles or official role - this is what you should aspire for. And you can be a CEO/CXO/VP without being a leader at all.

walterbell 10y ago
Variation of the same sentiment: ask a difficult question and see who everyone in the room looks towards for an answer. That person is the leader.
user5994461 10y ago
Higher title = ensure that people will listen to you for the first minute when you address the audience and/or ensure they'll come at all. Higher title = better pay It also has some drawbacks but that's a different topic.
- ktRolster 10y ago
  If you have leadership skills, you can help lead your company, even from a low-end job title. However, it can take years to build up respect from management in that position. If you have a high title, you get a level of respect immediately (whether you deserve it or not). It goes a lot quicker.
  - drusenko 10y ago
    I think it's a bit more nuanced. If you have a high title, you get people's attention immediately, but it takes time to earn their respect, and the two are quite different.
    - jimbokun 10y ago
      Sure, but attention may be a prerequisite to respect. How can gain respect if others don't know who you are or what you are contributing?
- mahyarm 10y ago
  Having the official authority to do something can just make things a lot faster. People may agree with you, but will want to check with their manager first anyway. If you have title authority, then they don't need to 'check with their manager' or equivalent.
bcbrown 10y ago
That was something that really bugged me about this essay. It says it's for "leaders", but it's really addressed to CxOs. I was hoping to get some useful insight into becoming a better informal leader, but there was very little applicable.
- GrinningFool 10y ago
  I think that the attributes mentioned also scale down to fit any leadership role. That said, it's really kind of "well, yeah, of course". Generally if you have integrity, vision, and the trust of the people you work with (or who work for you), you're going to be perceived as a leader among that group of people.

humanrebar 10y ago

> Maxwell claims that leadership is influence, not authority. When you're setting the raises, bonuses, and assignments, authority is (very blunt) influence. I've seen many coworkers do obviously dumb things because the boss wanted them to do it that way. They shrug their shoulders and say, "I just work here". It's not obedience out of respect or loyalty.