As you are climbing the career ladder towards senior management and leadership roles, it can sometimes feel like you are doing all of the hard work while the more senior people are cruising.

While you will without doubt be working hard, some of the delusions I have noticed people having about leading include:

It’s Easy

• In actual fact it is really tough. You can never really take your foot off the gas. Each time you achieve a milestone there is another one to tackle.

People Respect You More

• What I found is that people only give you respect when you respect them. Status in itself does not mean guaranteed respect.

It Is All Strategic

• The reality is that just like every other role there is a lot of routine. You also find that you are in response mode more often than you expect.

You Don’t Need To Make Sacrifices

• Long days and leadership often go hand in hand. Each hour you have to allocate to work means one hour less to do something else. Sacrifice in my experience goes with the territory.

The Bottom Line: Leadership is not for the faint hearted so make sure you step into a leadership role with your eyes open.

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to become highly effective leaders and managers. You can sign up for his free audio e-course at www.goalsandachievements.co.uk

In seven days time, Britain will go to the polls and vote on who should lead the country over the next 5 years.

Without doubt whoever wins faces a challenging agenda. The run up to the election has provided some interesting lessons in leadership more generally.  So what are some the key lessons.

The Demands Are Huge

Just look at the amount of time those seeking election have had to put into their campaign and if elected they will be expected to hit the ground running.  Being a leader of an organisation is no different, everyone is looking to you for answers.

It Is Difficult To Please Everyone

I was listening to an interview with Gordon Brown on the radio where listeners of the local radio station were asked to put questions to the current Prime Minister.  What I noticed is that rather than the questions being about general policy, people tended to ask about things that were very specific to them.  If you are a leader in a large organisation, just think about the diverse range of interests you have to meet.  In reality you cannot meet the needs of everyone.

It Takes Courage To Lead

We all have opinions and views about what needs to happen and what should and what should not be done.  Being the observer or commentator is easy but stepping up to lead takes courage and is not for the faint hearted.

You Need To Make Choices

In the ideal world you would do everthing but sadly we don’t live in the ideal world.  Any form of leadership relies on you making choices.  Some of them will be popular whilst some will be unpopular but you need to be willing to make choices.

There Are No Quick Fixes

As a leader you want to be creating long term success.  Sure there may be some quick gains along the way, but when faced with big challenges there really are no quick fixes, it is a long term project.

Bottom Line: Leadership can be both challenging and rewarding and it is key that you take the opportunity to continually learn to achieve long term success.

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to become highly effective leaders and managers.  To sign up for his Weekly Leadership and Management Success Tips click here

Stepping into a leadership role is a significant step in just about every profession.  Initially you feel excited and energised and appear to be going along on a crest of a wave.  Sadly, much as we would like this feeling to last for ever, the realities of leading is somewhat different. So what are some of the realities of leading?

Reality 1: It is stressful

If you are leading, chances are you will experience pressure, worries, anxieties and maybe even stress.  As a leader you need to look after yourself if you are to perform at your optimal level.  Part of taking care of yourself is taking regular exercise and eating sensibly.  I know from experience just how difficult it can be but it is up to you to make powerful choices.

Reality 2: People will look to you

As the leader, people will look to you for a whole host of things.  These might include, for example:

• To provide clear direction
• To sort out problems
• To reassure people when they are worried or concerned
• To make things happen
• To communicate with them regularly and effectively

The question you need to be asking yourself is whether you are willing to take on this role.

Reality 3: The buck stops with you

Your job as a leader is to deliver results, consistently.  If you do you will be rewarded well and progress in your career.  If you don’t, chances are that you will find that you come under a lot of pressure to stand down or are may be removed from your post.

Are you happy with this level of risk?  If not, then you need to think about whether leading is for you.

Bottom Line – Leading at any time is challenging.  In the currently tough economic climate it is even tougher.  The big question you need to ask yourself is whether you are ready for the challenges of leading.