WILLIAM HUFFMAN

Being a leader sucks. Before you freak out, let me give you some insight into the brain of William Huffman (that’s me). In the 42 years that I’ve been alive, I’ve had well over 30 different jobs, such as corn detasseling, dishwashing (from which I was fired), fast food restaurant cashier, and repo salesman. After blazing through these jobs like a bonfire of Christmas trees, I realized I’m a bad employee. I don’t listen. I challenge authority. I loved my coworkers but could never stand my managers.

The first real leader that I ever had, that I listened to and respected and looked up to was my manager, Pedro, at T-Mobile. To be honest, if my sales numbers weren’t so good I think he would have fired me…or at least that’s what I thought. In reality, he saw something in me that was a value-add to his team and to himself. I could talk about Pedro and the good ol’ days of working at T-Mobile for hours, but the reason I bring him up is because years after I left T-Mobile, I realized he was not just a manager, he was the first leader I had. Here we are a dozen years later, and I’m the leader. More importantly, others follow me. And yes, it sucks. It sucks because leaders don’t get to do what they want to do. It sucks because your decision process as a leader is extremely complicated. It sucks because other people look to you for inspiration, for guidance, for motivation, for support and anything else that they might need in their life at the moment. Leadership isn’t given. Leadership is earned. And it is both an honor and a burden.

Wow, it doesn’t sound like I am selling this leadership thing, and maybe that’s my point. Here are five traits of leaders who don’t suck.

ONE: GREAT LEADERS ARE BUFFALO

There’s a story about how cattle react to a storm vs. how buffalo react to a storm. When a storm is coming, cattle will get all nervous, start stomping around and making weird “moo” noises. Once that storm reaches them, they start running away from the storm. This ensures only one thing: that they are going to be in the storm for a very long time. Then there’s buffalo. What buffalo do is when they see a storm coming they form up like spartans. And the moment that storm reaches them - they charge head first into it. This ensures one thing as well…even though it is the same storm as the cattle, they are going to get through it a heck of a lot quicker. So when a leader is faced with a tough decision, it’s the burden upon them to be the buffalo and run head first into it.

TWO: GREAT LEADERS ARE SELFISH

I bet reading that title you are thinking to yourself…what in the world is he talking about?! If you’re not constantly taking care of yourself first, taking care of your needs first, and taking care of your life first, how do you ever expect to be able to help others? You must selfishly and unapologetically do what it takes to ensure you are running at your highest optimal level in order to pour into others. If I didn’t wake up, work out, and get to the office by 8am, how could I ever ask or expect anyone else to do it? Notice, I didn’t say “put myself” first, I said “take care of myself” first. There’s a huge difference.

THREE: GREAT LEADERS ARE DO-ERS NOT SAYERS

How many times have you heard, “This is what I do” or “This is what worked for me” or “Do as I say, not as I do” (this one is the worst). As a leader, I will never ask someone to do something I haven’t done myself. That is possibly flawed logic but try to understand the intent of what I am trying to say here. When an agent asks me, “What should I do to be successful?” One of the first things I ask them is what does your morning routine look like and what does your prospecting look like? I receive a wide variety of responses but none of them really matter. I am looking for action. It’s our job as leaders to filter out all of the excuses and all of the fluff and find the action. Being able to find the “DO” is a must quality of a leader.

FOUR: GREAT LEADERS SET THEIR OWN FEELINGS ASIDE

As a leader your feelings don’t matter. Let me tell you a story. I had an agent come to me and they were struggling with some deeply personal issues. And let’s just say I’m not the most empathetic person in the world. I felt as though they should have just sucked it up and gotten back to work. Those were my feelings. My feelings didn’t matter. Empathy is not a natural state for me. I don’t understand emotions. That doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters to a leader is how your followers are feeling. This might be the hardest job of any leader - understanding how others feel. And not just understanding but also knowing how to work within that person’s capacity. When I say “I don’t understand” emotions, it doesn’t mean I don’t care. It just means caring is not my natural default mode. When someone trusts you enough to follow you, your feelings don’t matter.

5. GREAT LEADERS FOCUS ON THEIR FOLLOWER’S FINISH LINE FIRST.

All of your followers are different. Lord knows, if they were all the same then leadership would be easy and my life would be a breeze. But guess what, your followers are each unique and therefore leadership is complicated. The finish line that you have set for yourself is fine and dandy as long as you understand that it is your finish line to cross and nobody else’s. As a leader, we must help our followers identify and make a strong connection to their finish line. The only thing that matters is getting them to that finish line. A lot goes into this process; it requires trust, productive conflict, commitment, and accountability. Only after successfully mixing these 4 ingredients will you actually get to the desired result. As a leader, we have to be able to recognize when somebody is going off course, and then gently (and sometimes not so gently) guide them back on track. Sometimes this means it is time for them to run their own race with another leader, and that can be a difficult concept to grasp. What’s most important is getting them to their finish line.

I stand by my statement; leadership sucks. It’s a burden. In the same breath, leadership is one of the most fulfilling occupations that you can ever earn. Whether you lead one person or millions of people, the impact you have can last a lifetime. Don’t screw it up.

LEADERSHIP SUCKS

HERE ARE FIVE TRAITS OF LEADERS WHO DON’T SUCK.

BY WILLIAM HUFFMAN