Don’t Be a Rockstar

When we first started using slack at work I noticed that colleagues were putting their titles or roles in their profiles. Mine says “Awesomeness Showcaser”. It really stuck with me. Now anywhere I put my role I like to include that if I can. Showing how great those around you are is a critical part of being a good leader.

What got you here

In the software space there is this term we sometimes use, “rockstar developer” or “10x engineer”. It generally means someone that is seen as highly productive on a team. As you grow technically and become more and more recognized for your contributions you may find yourself being looked at as one of these “rockstars”.

In order to lead teams effectively, though, you can’t be a rockstar anymore. You need to spend your time recognizing your team, and showing others how awesome they are. This may seem counterintuitive at first. After all, part of the reason why you’ll be looked at to lead is because of how good a contributor you are, but if you want to be someone others look to follow you have to remove yourself from the spotlight. You have to take that spotlight and put it on your team instead. No more being a rockstar.

Take all the blame, Give all the glory

You can’t take credit for accomplishments anymore. The goals you achieve are no longer yours, they are your teams’. Any time someone says you did a great job, call out who on your team really delivered. Make it about them instead of about you.

And when your team falls short on where they needed to be, you have to take all the blame. When someone asks you why you didn’t hit your marks, you have to focus on what aspects of your leadership led your team astray. It’s never your teams’ fault for failure.

This can be a hard pill to swallow. If you do, though, you will have teams that will follow you. They won’t just do their job because you told them to do it, they will believe in you.

Servant Leadership

Being called into leadership is primarily a call to servanthood. It is, in most regards, the opposite of being a rockstar. Instead of asking your team to do something for you, you should be asking them what they need from you. How can you help them become a success.

I don’t have any teams that are limited because of themselves. They are restricted because of things around them. Things they can’t fix. That’s what makes servant leadership powerful. You are the obstacle remover, and the more you have a servant mindset the more your team will appreciate you.

The more you adjust your way of thinking into this mindset the more rewarding it becomes leading your teams. Everyone wants to be around someone who is there to help them. No one wants to be around someone who takes all the glory and doesn’t show any appreciation.

You’ll never miss being a rockstar.