Learning Leadership the Hard Way: My Personal Story
In this post, Agility11’s Founder, Brad Swanson, reflects on his leadership journey…
Back in the day, I was a pretty good coder. Good enough to get promoted, at least. I got promoted to team leader, then team manager, and then Director. But nowhere along the way did anyone offer me any training in leadership, so I did what I new best - I relied on my technical expertise to help my team solve tactical problems. I felt productive and needed.
But then I faced a new challenge. I found myself as a Director at a company using a tech stack that I was less familiar with. The people I was managing had better tech chops than I did in this situation, so I had to make a choice: either learn the technology, or learn better ways that I could add value as a leader. I chose to focus on leadership. But I stumbled along in my leadership journey without a clear strategy for leadership growth. I read books, I mimicked former bosses who I had admired. I learned on the job - the school of hard knocks.
Eventually, I found a leadership development model that gave me a clear path and strategy for improving my leadership. I found Leadership Agility, from Bill Joiner and Stephen Josephs. I learned how to move beyond tactical leadership to strategic and visionary leadership, and how to apply all three modes in the appropriate context. It was likely adding higher gears to the transmission in my car - I now had new levels of performance that I just couldn’t access before. Now, I probably could have used any reasonable leadership model or framework. The important thing is that the model gave me a structure in which I could apply deliberate practice towards better leadership.
“Work smarter, not harder.”
Oh, how I wish I had chosen a leadership model sooner. All of my other tactics for learning leadership could have been so much more focused and deliberate. It would have greatly accelerated my growth and my career.
Wherever you are in your leadership journey - from first-level leader to C-Suite - learn from my mistake and be deliberate and strategic about your leadership growth. In this new year season of commitment to personal improvement, ask yourself: what is your strategy for leadership growth in 2025?
— Brad Swanson, Agility11 Founder and Chief Coach.
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