No leader wants to peak.
And even fewer leaders wants to peak early. I suppose at some point we all peak. But, personally, I’m shooting for that to happen at age 85…or 90.
Yet, peaking happens regularly in leadership; leaders who were great stop being great, even years (or decades) before they retire.
How does that happen?
And–even more significantly–how would you know if that’s you?
Peaking as a leader rarely happens overnight. It happens over a season or a few years.
But there are signs. Ironically, the leaders who peak are often the last to know it.
Here are 7 signs you may have peaked as a leader.
Peaking rarely happens overnight. And the leaders who peak are often the last to know it. Click To Tweet1. You’ve stopped learning and want to be the teacher
Being a great leader is really about being a great learner. Great leaders learn daily.
You learn about yourself, about others, about trends. You stretch. You grow.
There’s something inside most of us that asks “When will I be done?”
The answer: never.
Leaders who peak stop learning, and instead, want to become the teacher.
There’s actually nothing wrong with teaching others.
It’s just that the teaching of truly great leaders resonates because they’re still learning. Daily.
Being a great leader is really about being a great learner. Click To Tweet2. You feel entitled
When you start out in leadership, you realize you’re entitled to pretty much nothing. Everything has be to earned.
But success brings its privileges.
You might get an office, a parking space, a good salary (finally!), opportunities, perks and even the respect and admiration of your peers.
The best leaders never feel entitled to any of that.
In fact, they consistently use the perks of leadership in service of a mission greater than themselves.
And they do one more thing: they hold it all loosely, realizing that the privileges of leadership came and will one day go.
How do you know whether you’re starting to feel entitled?
Easy…check your gratitude.
Leaders who feel entitled to everything are grateful for nothing.
When perks become an expectation, you’ve peaked.
Leaders who feel entitled to everything are grateful for nothing. Click To Tweet3. Your stories are about what you did, not what you’re doing or are going to do
Are all your best stories from 5 years ago…or 20 years ago?
It may be a sign you’ve peaked as a leader.
Sure…great things may have happened in the past, but the point is we’re all moving into the future. That’s where leaders take people.
Leaders who have a future are more excited about the future than they are about the past.
Learn from the past. Just don’t live in it.
Learn from the past. Just don't live in it. Click To Tweet4. Your heroes and cultural references are from the past
Someone once told me that a person’s favourite music tends to be from when they were 23.
If you’re over 40, you may not like what you hear on the radio these days. But the real danger happens when you don’t know what’s going on in culture anymore, or if you can’t even identify 5 of the artists on today’s Top 40 charts.
When a 23 year old talks about X Ambassadors and you’re wondering what country they’re referencing, or they talk about the Weeknd and you correct their spelling and start listing off what you’re doing on Saturday, they’re less likely to take what you have to say about anything seriously.
I’m not into 50 year olds wearing skinny jeans and pretending they’re 20 (nobody thinks you’re 20 anyway, by the way), but growing older doesn’t mean you have to grow irrelevant.
Staying aware of today’s culture makes you better at leading people in today’s culture.
Growing older doesn't mean you have to grow irrelevant. Click To Tweet5. You’ve got instant reasons why new ideas won’t work
Once you’ve done a decade or two in leadership, you’ve made a few decisions.
You might even have a track record of success.
The challenge with success is that it’s easy to become protective of it. It’s easy to fall for the lie that what got you here will get you there.
Almost certainly, at some point, it won’t.
If you’re peaking as a leader, you will end up holding onto your ‘successful’ ideas and ignoring others.
New ideas almost always contain the key to the future. Old ideas usually contain a key to the past.
This doesn’t mean old ideas aren’t worth hanging onto. It just means they won’t get you as far as they once did.
New ideas often contain the key to future. Old ideas usually contain a key to the past. Click To Tweet6. You’ve lost your hustle
You know what’s wonderful about the best leaders? They hustle.
Doesn’t matter how successful they are, how old they are or how long they’ve been at it. They hustle.
If you’ve lost your hustle, you’ve lost more than you think.
If you've lost your hustle, you've lost more than you think. Click To Tweet7. You’ve stopped asking questions
The best leaders ask the best questions.
Leaders who’ve peaked swap out asking for answering.
They love to be the expert. They think they’ve got it figured out.
When you stop asking questions, you’ve stopped learning. Inevitably, you’ll stop leading.
When you stop asking questions, you've stopped learning. Inevitably, you'll stop leading. Click To TweetTwo Antidotes Against Peaking
So now you see the signs, but what are the antidotes?
I see two: humility and curiosity.
Humility will keep you from feeling entitled or resting on your laurels. It will keep you open and ready to learn from others.
And curiosity will keep you fresh. It will keep you asking questions, keep you learning and keep you listening.
Together, humility and curiosity will keep you leading.
Grow Yourself
Of all the mysteries we try to crack as leaders, the mystery of leading ourselves is one of the greatest. It’s the key to avoiding stagnation.
That’s why I’m so excited about my new book, Didn’t See It Coming. It’s all about overcoming the 7 greatest challenges everyone experiences, and no one expects.
One of those challenges is irrelevance. So many leaders stop learning, stop growing, and lose touch. I cover how that happens and what to do about it in the book.
Jud Wilhite, Lead Pastor of Central Church, Las Vegas, calls Didn’t See It Coming “the most important book you’ll read all year.”
Brian Houston and Andy Stanley call it ‘powerful.’
Check it out for yourself and learn more here.
