About a year ago, Deborah and I went to a Taj Mahal concert at a local bar/music venue. We both love Taj – particularly the music on his Giant Step recording from 1969. Yeah, big chunks of our brains are still stuck in the 60’s. And we wanted Taj to shake those old neurons and take us on a bluesy walk down memory lane. See, we’re fans.

And fans are deadly for artists like Taj.

If he caters to the demands of fans like me, he’ll stop growing as an artist. He’ll serve up re-heated oldies instead of mixing new recipes that stoke his creative fires. He might be a bigger star. He’d certainly make fans like me happier. But, he wouldn’t be as great an artist. And I wouldn’t have grown as a listener.

Because, listening to his new music forced me to stretch my musical imagination.

And to let go of my expectations. To actually listen instead of simply reveling in my memories.

But, this isn’t an article about music. It’s about leadership. Because leaders have fans too. You have fans. And your fans can be deadly to your development as a leader.

In fact, your biggest fans and strongest supporters can exert the most limiting hold on you.

Because they’re fans of who you’ve been. Not who you are becoming. Fans want to be able to predict you. They want you to be consistent. They want you to do what you’ve always done in the day you’ve always done it. They want you to conform to their expectations.

When you change, your fans don’t like it.

It’s disturbing. But, that’s what exercising leadership requires. In the felicitous phrase of Marty Linksy (from the Kennedy School at Harvard), leadership is the process of “disappointing people at a rate they can absorb.”

If you’re just playing the same old tunes, nobody will be disappointed.

They’ll be happily dozing in the comfort of the expected.

But, that’s not leadership. Leadership shakes things up. Acts of leadership disturb the apple cart of expectation and challenge people to engage in new ways of thinking and acting.

Disappointing acts of leadership aren’t gratuitous.

It’s not disappointment for its own sake. It’s purposeful disappointment. Disappointment in service of a purpose that is deeper than popularity or approval.

Even so, disappointing fans (particularly powerful fans) takes courage.

Because your fans (at every level of the organization) won’t automatically groove with the new music. They may actually resent it. They may fight against it and try to keep you from playing it.

But, keep playing. Don’t lose the beat. Don’t settle for being a star. Be like Taj. Play the music that needs to be heard.

Questions for Reflection & Action:

• What old ideas and patterns of behavior are you still playing (even though you’re heart’s not in it)?
• How are you holding back your leadership – to meet the expectations of others?
• Who’s approval are you seeking – instead of pursuing what a vision that matters?
• What’s the new idea/project that you want to bring to life?
  

Related posts:

1. Who can you learn from?
2. How to stop swatting flies and start developing leaders