Gremlins in the system? Make sure it’s not you

In my last post I challenged leaders to be catalysts for the development of their people. To enable an experimental approach that speeds up the rate of learning. That’s one side of the relationship equation. If you are early in your leadership career and wanting to put the accelerator down on your development, there’s some work you’ll need to do to help your own leader be a catalyst.

When you’re ready and eager to supercharge your development, there’s a risk you go at any opportunity like a coiled spring – all energy and no control. When that happens, you create unintended consequences that others might need to tidy up behind you. Do that often enough, and you start to become the system breaker. Sometimes, that’s a necessary thing – people who blow the whistle on dangerous or unethical systems can shine a light on change that must happen urgently. Most of the time though, finding your way to grow within the system you work in is the easier route. You become the progress maker who refines your craft by learning from those around you, while contributing to the momentum of your team, group, organisation.

If you’re having trouble finding support from your leader for the experiments you want to run, do a quick check of the impact you’re having. The scale below might help you figure out where you’re at.

If you’re inclining towards the left, there might be a risk that you’re becoming the gremlin in the system who ends up breaking critical elements or bringing things to a grinding halt. For your leader, they’ll be nervous that your experiments could do more damage than good when you deploy them into the real world. It’s hard to be supportive when what you’re trying out doesn’t appear to be helping the team or organisation progress forward, or threatens to unleash chaos.

I reckon we should be pushing towards the right hand side of the scale – the progress maker who is considered in what you do and cognisant of the impact you are having on your way to becoming the leader you dream of being. That’s way easier to get in behind for your leader because they can see the contribution this is making to your growth as well as to the progress of the team. It helps your leader be a catalyst. And it helps you approach your leadership journey with purpose. To handcraft your own development and contribute to the bigger story at the same time. To become an artisan of your craft.