Leadership Success Without Copying Others

The path to your leadership success requires that you become your best version of you without copying others.

Consider this… is there someone in a leadership position where you work who you would rather NOT be like?

An image of “them” – of that person for you – may already be in your mind.

And no, you don’t have to lead like “them”. Nor do you need to try not to lead like “them”. Your leadership success will actually come from leading just like you.

In working with thousands of people around the world I have often heard people say some version of “if I have to be like “them”, I’ll never get promoted or I’d rather not become a leader (as in positional leader)”.

After all, if there is a person in a role senior to you that you don’t respect or admire, it’s reasonable to wonder if you have to be like them to get ahead.

But you absolutely do not have to become like someone you do not respect or admire to get ahead.

In fact, trying to be like someone else is the surest way to derail your success.

This includes the people you consider to be role models. Of course, role models are great to have. But consider that you are better served by simply learning from them rather than trying to become them.

The “they” you are thinking of may have skills, experience and/or connections that got them where they are today.  Go ahead and draw clues about the skills, experience and connections that could be important to your growth, but never, ever, do you need to be like someone else.

Why leadership success does not come from copying others

Because the moment you focus on emulating someone else, you sacrifice the source of your personal power – the things that make you uniquely capable and qualified for your next level of leadership success.

In the words of Oscar Wilde: “Be yourself, everyone else is taken.”

Instead turn your focus inward and take a stand for the leader you are and the leader you are ultimately meant to become.  In doing so you will access two of the key ingredients to rise to your next level of leadership success: confidence and courage.

Are you ready to become the leader you are meant to be?