Out Front
Out front means carrying the weight without talking about it. Altruism and long-term gain both lead well, but they are not the same thing.
Short answer
Being out front means carrying the target and the weight without announcing them. Leadership isn't for the self-centered, though a 2015 meta-analysis found narcissists more likely to be put in charge and no more effective once there. The best leaders are altruistic and help because others need it. Ziglar's line describes long-term gain, helping because it pays later. Both are acceptable and even warranted, but they are not the same. While helping pays they look identical, and the difference shows the day it stops paying, as with Shackleton's biscuit and Cincinnatus giving the power back.
Key takeaways
- —A leader's job is to carry the weight and keep quiet about it. The ones who keep announcing how heavy it is give themselves away.
- —Narcissists are more likely to end up in charge and no better at leading once they get there, according to a 2015 meta-analysis.
- —Altruism helps because the other person needs it. Long-term gain helps because it pays later. Both are acceptable, and they are not the same.
- —As long as helping pays, the altruist and the long-game leader look identical. The difference shows on the day it stops paying.
What does it mean to be out front?
To be the one with the target. The one with the weight of the world on your shoulders, and everybody watching the way you carry it.
So many people love to tell you how hard their job is. How much they're contributing.
A leader carries more than all of them...
And you'll rarely hear a word about it.
That's the job. Carry it and keep your mouth shut.
But the truth about a leader is, it's not for the self-centered. It's not for the egotistical.
Funny thing is, those are usually the ones who get the job.
In 2015, a review of the research found narcissists are more likely to end up in charge, and no better at it once they get there. Ask them, though, and they'll rate themselves higher.
The best leaders are altruistic. They care more about others, and the outcome, than they do their own personal gain. And oftentimes, the gain shows up anyway.
As Zig Ziglar said, "You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want."
That's leadership.
That's how we move from sales to leadership. We lead prospects toward the outcome they want. We lead our teams toward the outcomes they want. And at the end, if we're lucky and the stars align, we might just get what we want.
Now read Ziglar again.
Help enough people, and you get what you want.
That's long-term gain.
Altruism helps because the other person needs it. If nothing ever comes back, it helps anyway.
Long-term gain helps because it pays. Later, and usually more.
Both are okay. Both are even warranted. Plenty of great leaders play the long game, and they still have to help a lot of people to win it.
But they're not the same.
As long as helping pays, the 2 look exactly alike. The difference shows up the day it stops paying.
Shackleton, 1909. Starving on the march back from the Pole, he privately forced his only breakfast biscuit on Frank Wild. Nobody else saw it. Nothing in it for him. Wild wrote that thousands of pounds wouldn't have bought that biscuit.
Rome, the legend goes, handed Cincinnatus total power to save the city. He saved it, handed the power back, and went home to his farm.
Helping has paid me more often than not.
I find out what kind of leader I am on the days it doesn't.