Life Unchained: Responsibility Is the Foundation of Strong Leadership
A lot of people crave being in a leadership position because it comes with the connotation of authority. This creates the mistaken impression of control, not just of the outcome, but control over others. And if you have control over others, it limits their ability to hurt you, cause trouble, and you may even get to enjoy doing things “Your Way.”
If this is your impression of leadership, then I’d say you're not a real leader at all.
Now you might also be wondering why I chose a picture of running shoes for the header image of an article about leadership. Especially when I’ve got some professionally photographed pics of me dressed business casual, commanding the attention of a boardroom.
To understand why, we’re going to have to delve deeper into what these shoes mean to me, where they’re taking me, and the key role responsibility plays in being a real leader.
An Eye on Angel’s Landing
In a few months, I’m going to fly into Vegas with a small group of people, drive to Zion National Park, to climb Angel’s Landing. It’s an especially meaningful trip for me to commemorate my late father’s passing.
When he died, I set a series of fitness, lifestyle, and career goals for myself. I like to say that I “Listened to the angels of my better nature.” Now every year on the anniversary of his death, I pick a new physical challenge to push myself to new heights.
An Honest Admission from Sleeping Bear
I recently climbed Sleeping Bear Dunes on my 50th Birthday, and I was hurting a lot more than I’d like to admit. And I know that Angel’s Landing is a more demanding hike.
Deep down in my spiritual bone marrow, I know I can tough it out through Angel's Landing. Get there, take some cool pics, and come back patting myself on the back enough to make social media sit up and say, “Wow!”
The question that matters is what happens if someone else in my group is struggling? Will I have the wind and the confidence to help get them through the moment, or will I be paralyzed by my own huffing and puffing?
Leadership and Accountability
Looking at the man in the mirror, I know the people on the Angel’s Landing adventure will be trusting me to be fully dialed in. The truth is, real leadership isn't about having authority over people. It's about taking responsibility for what happens to people who trust you.
I know the man in the mirror doesn’t have the cardiovascular fitness necessary to help someone else in their moment of struggle.
As someone with a lifetime of leadership experience, I know I have to hold myself accountable to be the guy who sets the example.
The Power Behind Setting an Example
This starts with training in a visible way. So, the people following me also recognize the need to get prepared. I’m not telling them, “Hey, climb the stairs at work 20 times to prove you’re a badass deserving of being my underling.”
Instead, I’m dropping training videos of me running the stairs near SCSU. They see me holding myself accountable to put in the work to get ready for the climb. Hopefully, this inspires them to put in their own work to match my example.
It also helps build trust when we’re in the moment. When they’ve seen me doubling down on my cardio training, and they’re suddenly huffing and puffing toward the top of the Walters Wiggles part of the trail, and I give them a tip on their breathing. They know it’s coming from a place of authentic experience. And that gives me authority in their mind without me having to force it with ego or attitude.
Leveling up my cardiovascular fitness at age 50 will also show through on the day. I’ll be the oldest member of the group by 5 to 10 years. If I’m striding forward confidently at the front of the pack, it makes a silent statement that this whole thing is doable.
They aren’t following my lead because I’ve been texting them lines from a meme about the “7 Best Ways Leaders Get Followers to Respect Them.” I’m not ripping off a quick quote from an article about “10 Qualities of Great Leaders.”
I’m showing them, that it’s possible, not telling them to buck up and do as I say.
The Erosion of Authority-Based Leadership
Throughout my life, I rapidly ascend to leadership positions in everything I do. I’ve got all these great-sounding titles, like Youngest Assistant Manager in Company History, #1 Sales in the first month, I was even the first freshman to be named a varsity captain. The list goes on.
Some of those titles were handed to me because I’m a horse of a man with the confidence to back it up. A few of them were truly earned through talent and grind.
In all of those leadership positions, I learned that given enough time, if you don’t prioritize responsibility, the people who follow you will eventually stop respecting your authority. Every project that underperforms gives people another reason to question whether you're actually capable of leading them.
So, like me, you might be handed a position of authority. Yet if you don’t hold yourself accountable to help the people under you succeed, you’ll eventually lose functional authority over them.
Run a Mile in My Shoes
Now this Angel’s Landing climb is just one example taken from this chapter of my life. I have a lot of stairs to climb and miles to pound in that pair of Nikes. The people coming with me will see that.
When it’s dealing with my travel marketing affiliates, it’s making sure they have the promotional messages sitting in their inbox at 7:59 Monday morning. For my freelance clients, it’s making sure all the follow-up projects are done by 4:59 on Thursday, instead of 5:00 PM Friday. That way they have a full day to review and ask for edits.
For my daughter, it's making sure that cold lunch is packed the night before. It's letting her see me work toward excellence while still making time for the lift, putting in the run, and showing up for every school play.
Ask the people in my professional or personal life if they have doubts about my ability to lead, and I think most would say no. They respect my authority because they see me consistently accept responsibility for the people who depend on me.
I don't know if I'll be the strongest person on that mountain. I don't know if I'll be the one helping someone else up the trail. And I sure as hell don't know if I'll have every answer when something goes wrong.
Yet I do know that I have a responsibility to show up prepared. That's what leadership means to me.
Not standing at the front of the room because someone gave me a spiffy title. And I don't bark orders because my name appears higher on an organizational chart. I don't demand respect because I think I'm entitled to it.
Leadership is accepting responsibility for the people who trust you. And I've learned if you do that consistently enough, you don't have to demand authority.
You earn it.
To learn more about Life Unchained, other self-help, travel and adventure content follow Eric Beuning's Author Page.
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