But, Do I Have To Like People To Be A Leader?

We have concluded one of the twelve behaviors of the Rare Leader™ is to be high in “relationships”.  The quick response from some people has been...”so what you’re telling me, is that if I don’t like to be around people I can’t lead?”  

I’ve heard feedback on assessments when I review candidates for an Executive Leadership opportunity for a client...

• If my MBTI shows me to be an “E” rather than an “I”, am I doomed to be in the trenches, rather than leading the troops?  
• My DiSC profile shows me to be a lower “I”, should I see this as an indication I can not influence the people I lead?
• My Culture Index profile indicates I am a lower “B”.    Because I like to think and focus on the tasks at hand rather than socialize shouldn’t be interpreted that I can not lead.

Now what? 

While there is a great amount of reality that Leaders interact with people, and establish that mutual trust between them, it is not intended the “relationship” behavior of the Rare Leader™ be an emphasis on social skills and desires.

However, the Rare Leader™ is always dealing with people, displaying the ability to listen, to understand, and to respond.  The Rare Leader™ uses intuition to sense what people are feeling and thinking.  The Rare Leader™ is able to recognize different behavioral styles proving he or she can focus on others rather than themselves.

Sometimes, “E’s”, or higher “I’s”, or higher “B’s” struggle leading others.  Perhaps their personal focus is on the social side of working with others rather than actually leading.  

This high “sociability” might even mask their inability to establish a trusting relationship, disabling any intuitive skill to sense what motivates their Team, or to understand and appropriately respond to differing styles of behavior.  After all, the key to utilizing these assessment profiles is understanding how you can affect others, and how to sense and interact with others.

So let’s make a deal here...

1. Don’t take the popular assessment tools at face value as an indicator of Leadership.  We need to understand what they really mean.
2. Social Skills are not the same as “relationship” behaviors and abilities.
3. Consider these important questions;

• Do you have the ability to listen to people?
• Can you understand what others are trying to communicate to you?
• Are you able to respond effectively to others?
• Are your intuitive skills heightened?
• Can you sense what people are thinking or feeling?
• Can you recognize differing behavioral styles in people you lead?
• Do you focus on the success of others as well as your self?

Check back with us soon, to discover and share more about your answers to these questions.

If you want to learn more about the Rare Leader™ in you, 

or if you are interested in retaining Steve as your Executive Coach, 

Contact Steve Riege via: twitter, or his website.