In a recent mastermind conversation with now-generation business owners, I asked a simple question: When you look back, how were you taught to lead?
The answers were honest, raw, and surprisingly similar.
One owner admitted:
“I was not taught how to do this job. It was trial and error. I worked for someone who was a terrible leader, and when I struck out on my own, I just tried to do the opposite.”
Another said his biggest shift came when he realized leadership wasn’t about always having the right answer:
“I wanted to be part of the team. If someone had a better idea, I wanted that communication open. Early on, I realized I didn’t always have the best answer.”
Others described piecing together lessons from role models:
“You find people that are good examples. Even if you just pick out one little thing they do and add it to your own approach, it’s a great way to learn.”
Delegation came up as one of the toughest challenges:
“Handing things off has been ongoing for me. I had to grow into the identity of being a leader, someone who inspires people to be their best and find ways they can contribute.”
And of course, the golden rule of leadership surfaced:
“I just try to treat employees the way I wanted to be treated. If you don’t take care of them, they won’t take care of you.”
Several admitted leadership often came simply because they stepped forward:
“I accepted positions of leadership without knowing what I was doing. I figured it out as I went. Sometimes you just see a need and fill it.”
Listening to these reflections, I summarized the theme this way: for most of us, leadership happened to us. It wasn’t a course or a manual; it was a mixture of trial, example, mistakes, and responsibility that landed on our shoulders.
But that raises an important question for all of us: if leadership “just happened” to us, how intentional are we about shaping it for the next generation?
Our businesses, and the people in them, will only thrive if we equip incoming leaders with more than chance and trial. The good news is, we have a wealth of wisdom to share.
So I’ll leave you with this: How are you equipping your incoming generation? If you’d like to see how we’re working together to build them into amazing leaders, I’d be glad to talk.
