As we talked about earlier, Leadership is Influence when it comes to blogs or forums. One of the most critical links in the leadership chain is the mentoring process. This is often overlooked by those in leadership positions who are more concerned with their own personal power and control than in raising up effective leaders, and this alone can be the biggest stumbling block to community growth.
Working Yourself Out of a Job
There is a four-step process to nurturing fresh leadership (I don’t recall where this concept came from but it was probably from the writings of John Maxwell).
1. Let them watch you do the job.
This is the step where potential leaders are recognized. In this step, existing leaders notice those who naturally stand out and seem to attract others through natural charisma, knowledge and abilities. These individuals are not necessarily destined to be leaders, but they exhibit leadership traits. It’s at this step that a new candidate is chosen.
2. Teach them to do the job.
At this stage, the candidate helps the leader perform his duties, learning the trade along the way. The leader will impart valuable insight and maturity throughout this process, instructing the trainee as they work together. A good example of this would be an electrician’s apprentice.
3. Make room for them to do the job.
This is where the trainee gets all his practice. A wise leader makes room for failure, allowing the trainee to learn the hard way, by making mistakes, and shape his own philosophies and tendencies. An effective leader will not quench opposing ideas, but will corral these philosophies and traits toward a commonly-held positive goal, teaching the trainee how to use those qualities to have a positive influence on those that are being led.
4. Get out of the way and let the new leader do the job.
This is the final step. The trainee has matured and gained valuable wisdom and insight through the training process. They’ve made mistakes and learned the hard way. They have established a rapport with those they’re to lead, who look to the leader for direction. At this point the leader can step back and allows the protege to do the job without individual restraint. New ideas and philosophies flow into the arena, and the new leader can begin to look among those he leads for people that exhibit the qualities of a future leader. And so the cycle continues.
Building Trust
A deciding factor in good leadership is to determine whether people are following the leader, or simply obeying him. Anyone can get into a community and start telling others what the rules are, but if that person doesn’t demonstrate that they can be trusted, the people will simply obey and not follow.
How do you establish trust and confidence? Good question. One way is by communicating a vision of where you are going, what you are doing and what you believe. If people sense a lack of confidence or ability, they will not respect your place as a leader. It’s important to understand that “the people” make you a leader, not a higher-up. By establishing this respect with those you work with, you will be recognized as a leader.
In the next entry, we’ll look at a topic I like to call Quality Leaders Control Their Own Destiny
