Lob some people in a group and before too long someone will emerge as the leader. This is how we know that leadership is inevitable and essential to human society. But it’s not everything.
If it seems like it’s everything or at least the most important thing, that’s only because
people like to talk about what they do
leaders get listened to
and
people like to organise their world in a way that makes sense to them
the world of the leader includes their followers
An example:
I had a boss who was a graphic designer. He was good at his job, so he got promoted to run the studio. After his promotion, he spent all his time organising people and projects and going to meetings. His promotion made him less happy because he didn’t get to do design anymore. His reward for being good at his job was to have his job taken away and replaced with job he didn’t like. This only makes sense if you think leadership is the most important thing.
Society is organised for the thriving of leaders. But most people aren’t leaders.
Personal growth is interpreted through the lens of leadership. But there are huge swathes of life that don’t involve leading.
Often people who are good at what they do have to get outside mainstream structures and stop looking through leadership lenses in order to save themselves from being ‘promoted’ out of doing what they love. The FFOREST is stuffed with people like this.
(Shout out to Steven, Lyndsay, Katerina, Cali, Alison, Jess, Lynn, Tash, Jecelyn, Mark, Valorie, wing, the Streamline Jacks, Greg, Kamaka, Sue, Adam and a bunch more of you!)
If leadership isn’t your thing. That’s totally fine.
‘Chewing off my ear like you’re Mike Tyson’
Grow slowly
Jeff
Watching those around me move from leading a project to taking the back seat to help each other to just knowing when a sounding board is needed is definitely outside the "norm" for design studios. But for SJ, way more rewarding.
I have been moved into leadership all my life. Odd for this nature loving introvert. It did develop my organizational and people skills.🪷