WHILE I was looking for something to write for this regular column of mine, I came across this very touching story of a young leader who realized at his young age how a real leader shall behave and act properly to be called as such. He realized that leadership is not all about individual prowess but how a team delivered the goods that benefit and give credit to where credit is due -- to the team. This is the story of Jonathan Yabut, which I am going to share with you in toto:
When I was 25 years old, I started becoming a boss of my own with two brand managers reporting to me. I sent and replied to emails fast. I executed projects on time and within the allotted budget. I hit my sales target every year. I made money for the company. People praised me. I was your typical model employee.
Any competitive worker like me expected to be promoted EVERY year. And so when another 12 months passed, I was expecting my name to be announced in the CEO’s (chief executive officer's) email about promotions. For the first time, my name wasn’t in it.
I clearly remember dashing to my boss’s cubicle. “You asked me to finish projects 1, 2, and 3. And I did with flying colors. Why isn’t my name there?” I was fuming with anger and confusion.
“Jonathan,” my boss calmed me down. “Remember that day when you brilliantly aced a presentation to the CEO and I congratulated you for it? I asked you out for dinner and to tag along anyone you liked in the office. You brought nobody,” she added. “I was expecting you to bring your two brand managers who painstakingly helped you prepare those slides. You didn’t. And you never even acknowledged them.”
I started melting with shame. I realized what I was missing all throughout.
“And this is why I’m not promoting you. You are insecure to share the limelight with other people. You refuse to share the stage. You don’t wear a corporate hat. You think it’s all about YOU.” My boss snapped. “You are a brilliant executioner Jonathan, but you have a lot more to learn about leadership. You can’t manage people yet,” she added.
This is probably one of the biggest and most painful lessons I’ve learned in my corporate career about leadership. There is a big difference between being individually good at what you do versus being good at managing people to do what they ought to do. Those who get promoted to leadership and managerial roles possess the latter. When I was younger, I often wondered what kept me from being promoted faster than how I expected to be, and I was missing the value of leadership apparently. At work, I have so many work colleagues who fall into the same trap -- excellent individual players, but fail when they start working with teams or leading teams. They're like the folks in the picture. They sail with other travelers using the same ship with the goal of arriving at the same destination, but they insist to set sail on their own. They refuse to share the steering wheel or let someone steer it once in a while.
Leadership is “pullership,” not “pushership.” Leadership is about serving the people who work for you, and not the other way around. Leadership is putting the spotlight on your team, and not on yourself. For all you guys out there aspiring to get promoted this year, make sure you are confident to tick this box. It’s not just about clocking the most time at work, submitting the best report, or hitting the most amount of sales for the company. Rather, social intelligence and the emotional maturity to lead are essential in promoting people to positions of higher power, and positions requiring people management. Because in the end, the real role of leaders is to make more leaders out of themselves.
This Corner hopes that all aspiring leaders will learn a lesson or two from this sharing of Mr. Yabut who selflessly shared his story for us to learn that leadership is not all about yourself as a leader but on how the team becomes better under your care and guidance.