Leadership Motivation: Are You Ready for a Promotion?

[Published in Manila Bulletin last April 2011]

Do you want to get promoted? Believe it or not, not everyone wants to be promoted to a position of leadership or as a supervisor or manager in the company they work for.

I observed this during my consultancy project with a top retail company for their Management Trainee Program. The employer wanted to give deserving salespeople a chance to move up by promoting them as supervisors. So their HR department set up a much publicized program wherein people can either volunteer on their own or be selected by their superiors to attend the company’s leadership training program which was a prerequisite to getting promoted.

Interestingly, most of the participants for the program were nominated by their managers. Not one volunteered to get into the program for a chance at moving up the ranks. This prompted the employer to ask: Why didn’t our people grab the chance of rising above the ranks? Don’t they want to get promoted to a position that pays higher? Do they lack the ambition?

This is where our consulting team stepped in. Before running a series of intensive leadership training workshops to develop the supervisorial skills of the attendees, we conducted a Training Needs Analysis to find out what the sentiments of the nominated attendees were about possibly taking on a new role as a supervisor. We needed to know if they were willing participants, since the success of the program hinged on how eager they were in becoming leaders.

DESIRE TO LEAD

See, the first and most basic prerequisite for leadership is the desire to lead. After all, becoming an effective leader takes dedication and commitment. It presents many challenges that you will have to face. If you're not prepared to work hard at developing your leadership skills or if, deep down, you're really not sure whether you are leadership material or not, you'll struggle with the new role.

In line with this, let me ask our dear readers… How ambitious are you? Do you want to be promoted as a supervisor or manager in your company? If your employer offered a similar program wherein you can volunteer to attend a required seminar to get the chance of moving up the ranks, would you volunteer?

If you answered YES to these questions, then good for you. You have a healthy dose of ambition and you are willing to step out of your comfort zone to move up in life. If, however, you answered NO, let’s see what’s holding you back. Could it be any of the reasons below?

BARRIERS TO LEADERSHIP

When we surveyed the selected employees of the top retail company, we did uncover some apprehensions and fearful attitudes about becoming a leader. Here are some of the common barriers that prevent people from embracing leadership.

Insecurity

Some people do not embrace positions of leadership because they are not confident that people will follow them or they feel they are not deserving of the position. In the case of the salespeople I mentioned earlier, some of them felt they are not capable because they are not college graduates.

Although education helps, I believe you don’t have to be a college graduate or have the pedigree to become a good leader. Instead, an eager learning mind and a mature understanding of people will push you to the right direction. Leadership skills can be learned and developed. If you believe in yourself, other people will believe in you too.

More Responsibility

Some people do not want to become a supervisor or manager because of the added responsibilities attached to a promotion. A position of leadership means that you will be overseeing people under you. For a lot of people, this is no easy feat so why bother with the added work?

The answer is it will make you grow---not just professionally, but also mentally and emotionally. The more you experience dealing with different personalities and situations, the better you will become as a person and the higher your chances of success in life. Having to manage people is a challenging feat, but you will enjoy the rewards if you learn to manage your team well.

Peer Pressure

Some people are hesitant to become leaders because they are afraid that their friends and colleagues will hold it against them or treat them differently. When you get promoted as a supervisor or manager, the dynamics of your relationship with your co-workers instantly changes especially if they become your subordinates. You will have to give them orders and correct them if they make mistakes. While they may be used to you as a work-buddy, they will have to adjust to you as their new “boss”.

I understand that this can be unnerving for most people, but I don’t think you should let it stop you from getting ahead in life. There are smart ways and means to rally your co-workers to support you as a leader which we cover in our training workshops. All it takes is a little savvy and an effective technique to prevent power-struggles with your peers.

BENEFITS OF LEADERSHIP

The above are just some of the issues that people wrestle with, but the benefits far outweigh the momentary difficulties of mastering the art of leadership. For one thing, a promotion means an increase in income and benefits which your family will enjoy. Aside from the financial rewards, your professional growth as a supervisor or manager in your company starts the wheel for greater achievement not just for yourself but the people around you. You become a better person because you build courage which you can bring with you for the rest of your life. But before you can become a good leader and get a promotion, you must first have the desire to lead.