Why Real Leaders Don’t Need a Title

The two experienced Airline Captains, both senior managers, retired at around the same time. 40 years is a long time in any career, let alone one like this that involves so much critical interaction with others, and therefore with lots of opportunity to cement one’s status and reputation. And lock theirs in they did, on both counts. Retirements announced, the honouring events were planned. The CEO informed the staff, detailing the wonderful achievements of these people, and rightly so.

The staff had clearly made their judgements. 

One had risen to a slightly higher level on the Organisational Chart than the other, however well before that time, the staff had clearly made their judgements, and their respective titles meant very little.

Captain 1 finished his career with a dozen or so loyal followers, fellow managers, those he worked closely with in his later years. This suited him. He was not comfortable or at ease speaking with ‘people’, yet he had reached high levels in his profession.

The other, the quieter of the two, had been kept ‘in the dark’ about his forthcoming retirement event. As I’m sure you’re gathering, this person was flooded with guests, celebrations, tributes on social media and more – and he didn’t expect any of it.

The upshot? They were both pleased with their finish, but herein lies an enormous difference. The first person was in fact unpopular with the masses. Very. The second was the complete opposite. The first effectively disappeared post-retirement. The second was in demand, and indeed started a whole new ‘work’ life, building on his legacy, and in a manner that suited him. He moved from one career he loved to another.

The monumental difference 

Why did this happen? The reason isn’t that complex.

Captain 1 placed high importance on his status. He led his staff with a steep managerial gradient. Aloof. Imposing. Removed. Captain 2 guided those reporting to him, never lost sight of what was happening on the front line, genuinely listened and made whatever was happening to his staff affect him as well. He let his reputation do the talking – for him, any status would be a resultant.

This is critical. We only have power or authority by virtue of a role or title. We quickly find out how good a job we’ve really done when we no longer have that role anymore. If we haven’t generated respect, haven’t treated others well, they, our former staff and colleagues, won’t go out of their way to even speak to us when we pass them in the street. We’ll no longer have any control over them, cannot affect them anymore. If we’ve done it well, we’ll have something much better than power or authority, and that’s influence. And influence doesn’t disappear. It’s permanent.

It’s imperative therefore that we build our influence while in our role. It’s just too late to try to create it when we’ve finished. The reputation has been locked in.

What then of the future?  

What if we had an organisation filled with ‘second Captain’ leaders? This becomes an organisation full of respect; the masses following them. Imagine. It can happen.

We all know them, the influential people in our organisations, and we find them at every level of the Organisational Chart. They may not even know how significant is their effect on others, and while they may not be technically ‘leaders’ right now, they can be our future. They are the ‘significant others’, the ones others listen to when they speak. Tap into them. They may not be the most popular with senior management, and there are often reasons for this – frustration being a big one. Have another look. They are often bursting to do more but are hamstrung by their Position Description, or sadly others higher up the chart. I’d take a person who just needs the edges smoothed out a little, maybe their unbridled enthusiasm given better focus, any day than someone we have to continually boost up.

Much more important however is how they’re mentored. It doesn’t take too much imagination to visualise the compounding effect of a workforce with lots of these people. Just make sure they know how to become influential and be a ‘second Captain’ not a ‘first’.

Epilogue 

The young, junior crew member wrote a note on the second Captain’s farewell card. It read, ‘Thank you for always having our back.’

No more words needed.

Written by Chris Smith.