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Leading an organisation can be daunting. For some, leadership comes naturally, and for others, it simply isn’t for them. For those who do take the mantle, there are various challenges and opportunities that come with the position.
One of the biggest challenges of being in a top position is not having somebody to lean on when it hits the fan. While the feeling of total control may be enticing, it also means you’re at the forefront of responsibility when things go wrong.
Aimee Baker, chief executive of Ari Recruitment, commented: “I am someone who is all about extreme ownership. So, if there’s ever a difficulty, I am going to say, well, when you’re at the top, or you are the leader, that falls on you.”
“Even if it was sitting with someone else, you’ve put someone in that role. So, you need to ask yourself the question, ‘Have I provided them with the right training, the right resources, the right support?’ You have to ask yourself all of those questions before you point a finger and blame anyone.”
This puts the onus on the leader, no matter the circumstance. This may deter people from taking on a leadership role, and rightly so.
Ms Baker continued: “Anytime there’s been a challenge, I feel like I’m almost always going to wear that on me. Even if the challenge is someone else screwed up in their role, there are several ways I can look at it. What could I have done better, or did I just screw up hiring the wrong person?”
Although there’s the stress of responsibility weighing on the leader’s shoulders, it’s important that these challenges serve as a learning experience to further develop skills.
“Whenever there are challenges in a business and you are the person who’s in leadership, I think you have to check where’s the opportunity to grow here for yourself. What’s the lesson to learn, and how can you do it differently next time?” Ms Baker explained.
“I’ve learnt so much about leadership from so many of the mistakes I’ve made. I’m not a micromanager; I hate it. I hated being micromanaged. Some people though I think in my head I might think, I’m giving you freedom. You can do this however you want; get creative. And for some people, that works really well, and [for] others, it doesn’t. So, it’s not always a one size fits all.”
“So, I definitely, along the way, have learnt that autonomy doesn’t equal setting someone up for success. I also think, at times, I’ve promoted people too early. They took on more responsibility than they were ready for because I’m such a cheerleader of people. But you can’t be more invested in someone’s growth than they are themselves,” said Ms Baker.
On the other hand, there are opportunities that come with being the boss. As previously discussed, the chance to learn and develop is one of these benefits.
“A big part of my job is dealing with some of our large key accounts. And as a result, I’m sitting around CEOs with 20, 30, 40 years [experience]. While I get to help them in one specific niche area, I get to take in and sponge so much information from them on all of their years in leadership and then everything that that entails as well,” Ms Baker said.
“The moment you decide you have nothing more to learn, that’s almost like the definition of being closed-minded … Once you get to that point, that’s when you can put the tick of approval. Yes, this person is close-minded. So, I don’t want to be that.”
Furthermore, leadership grants the opportunity to control the environment and culture of the workplace. This can be a great way to implement ideas that will benefit the organisation.
Ms Baker commented: “[I get to] directly impact what a work environment looks like. I’m the person who makes the call and the decision.”
“I think there’s been plenty of times where I’ve been in some workplaces where I’d have an idea of how things could be done better and you might bring that forward to someone or feel really unheard or not get to really have as much impact on what the culture looks like, what a work environment looks like, and everything else in between that.”
She concluded: “So getting to be the final decision on that in our workplace, that’s a really great opportunity.”
The transcript of this podcast episode was slightly edited for publishing purposes. To listen to the full conversation with Aimee Baker, click below:
Jack Campbell
Jack is the editor at HR Leader.
