Every company has top performing employees who get along exceptionally well with colleagues and customers. They seem to have all those “people skills” needed to be a great leader – polished communication skills, Active Listeners, great at motivating team members to achieve lofty objectives, and with such admired skills, they intuitively know how to quickly extinguish conflict. You may be thinking of someone who is poised to fill a much needed leadership role in your company, and you may be encouraging him or her to accept a position in management. But what if that ideal person has rejected your offers, not wanting to have anything to do with the additional responsibilities associated with being burdened by a management title? What do you do?
If you happen to find yourself stuck in this situation, consider the following five reasons to cease and desist…
- The good news is, if your ideal candidate already acts like, walks like, and quacks like a leader, you already have a leader. Leadership is not a title. Leadership is the way someone treats others, motivates them, and leads everyone into achieving goals and objectives, especially in times of doubt, stress and anxiety.
- The best kind of employees are those who people want to be with – all the time. They are positive, optimistic, friendly, and possess the character of always doing the right thing, no matter what. They serve as an inspiration to others above and below them in both title and rank. And that’s including his or her own manager!
- Leadership is a choice. If, and when that ideal person is ready for the additional stresses associated with the responsibilities of holding a position in management, you will know.
- Although your draft pick may not want a leadership title, s/he may be perfectly content, or even honored to be branded as their manager’s right-hand person, willing to step up on occasion when his or her manager’s time or resources are spread too thin. In other words, you already have your backup – don’t let a title get in the way.
- It’s human nature to resist the more someone persists. When s/he feels your persistence is getting to the point of being too much, it may affect job performance as s/he begins to believe they are no longer in your good graces, and may even feel his or her job is threatened.
Instead, learn to be grateful that you have such an individual representing your company, giving you their best every day. You have that key player your competitors would love to have on their team, so don’t sabotage your own relationship or your competitive advantage. You already have a great leader. Let them keep doing what they are doing so very well!