For all the allure and dazzle associated with a leadership role, the behind the scenes reality is not so rosy. If you are planning to take up a leadership role, a reality check is in order. Becoming a leader will add to your power and status, and many people take it up to boost their ego.

Very few see the toil, sweat, mindset shifts, stress, conflict and sacrifices that are part of a leader’s everyday life. Make a conscious decision whether you want to become a leader or not. 

Here are a few things you must know before getting started:

Direct Control to Indirect Control – You might feel that you have far more power as a leader compared to what you had as an individual contributor. It’s true that your span of responsibilities is much larger, but now you only have indirect control over a large part of your work, whereas as an individual contributor, most of your work was in your direct control. You have to get work done through people now, so your influencing skills have to be top notch.

Many people struggle terribly to manage this transition of control from direct to indirect. 

You will have to watch people stumble, make errors, do work differently from you, and you will have to hold back the urge to scream. You will need to stop yourself from taking over the work to “do it your own way”. Again, this can be maddening for people who are perfectionists and have rigid mindsets. 

Letting go – People need autonomy to work. If you are a control freak, then becoming a leader will be a nightmare for you as well as your team. The greater your fear of failure and insecurities, the more control you will seek. This will start suffocating people working under you, disengaging them and causing performance to drop.

You will have to learn the art of letting go.

As an individual contributor, you succeeded because of your passion for the technical / functional part of your work. But, now this part of your job will shrink, and the people management, visioning etc. part will increase. So you will have to let go of a large chunk of the functional part of your work, and hold onto the leadership part.

Increased Conflict – As an individual contributor, you had to manage relationships in two dimensions – upwards (boss) and sideways (colleagues). As a leader you have a new dimension added – downwards (subordinates). Your stakeholders will also increase in number and will be more powerful than the earlier ones. The politics and games will become even more complex. The stakes will be higher, and there will be bigger political landmines that you will need to navigate successfully.

As you rise higher in the organization, your enemies will also increase

All this can cause you huge stress. You have to be prepared to cope with these challenges once you become a leader.

It’s We, not Me – Like Marshall Goldsmith says leadership is a contact sport. You will have to manage relationships to get results. Good leadership needs a mindset of giving and selflessness. Does giving come naturally to you? Or are you more of a taker? You will have to give of yourself to your subordinates. You will have to let them take the limelight while you stand behind them. You will need to take accountability for their mistakes and coach them.

Leadership is not about I, me, myself. It’s a team game. It’s about We. If your competitiveness is so high that you compete with your subordinates, then that’s a recipe for disaster. You have to inspire and develop your team so that they succeed. Their success is your success.

Be aware of these aspects of leadership before you take the plunge. Take up a leadership role to make a greater impact, to change things for the better, to satiate your hunger for challenges and achievement. Think of your subordinates as your extended limbs, who can help you make an exponentially larger impact than you could have made as an individual contributor.

These are the right motives to take up a leadership role. When your thoughts, words, actions and decisions arise from these motives, you will be on your way to becoming a great leader.

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