What kind of a leader will you be in your work?

Leaders are supposed to be in the front pointing the way, like a shepherd leading sheep.

I grew up watching variety shows where an entertainer would spin plates on narrow spindles to see how many they could keep going before one fell off. The Guinness World Record for spinning multiple plates is held by David Spathaky, who spun 108 plates simultaneously on a television show in Bangkok in 1996. These acts were never entertaining for me, but they have influenced my life and I often use that term, “spinning plates,” forgetting sometimes that the younger generation may not have ever seen this type of performance.

Getting somewhere: My day is often spent “spinning plates.” The term is almost synonymous with “keeping balls in the air” — a juggling reference to multitasking — starting with three balls and adding additional balls into the “circle” until one drops. It seems my day, heck my life, has been about “spinning plates” and “keeping balls in the air.” What plates will I be spinning today? What balls do I need to keep in the air this week? Sound familiar?

I read somewhere that a manager’s job is to keep the balls in the air, keep the plates spinning (all circus references, hmmm). But, in contrast, a leader’s job takes people to where they currently need to go. There are two main qualities of a good leader — they know where they are going, and they know how to get others to follow. Many leaders are strong in one or the other trait but not both. If you are a leader, a business owner, a teacher, or a stay-at-home parent — do you know where those you lead need to go? What is your goal for this year for your “group”? This goal is not that hard to develop, but one needs to take the time away from spinning plates to develop it. Most of us don’t — we are managers in practice, keeping our eyes on the plates, afraid one may fall. The second trait of a leader is knowing how to motivate others to head in that direction. You may be part of an organization where this would be like “cat herding” — does the team trust the leader enough to follow? Leaders are supposed to be in the front pointing the way, like a shepherd leading sheep that know the shepherd’s trusting voice. Those who push from the rear, the “cattle drivers” who lead by intimidation, are not leaders.

When speaking of leading a functioning team, business author Patrick Lencioni asks the question: are you part of a golf team where the team is made up of individual scores? Or part of a basketball team, where the collective effort of all the team members ends up winning the game? Is there unhealthy competition between team members or do all work toward the good of the organization? I am fortunate to be part of a healthy team working together, heading towards great goals ahead and I hope you can say the same; it makes all the difference in the work environment and in retaining good employees. Now I just need to stop spinning all these plates and keep my head in the game.