Since I am a white straight man I recognize that my ascent into leadership comes with some privileges that others would not have. In my leadership class, we talked about how wealth and money grant people a fast track to leadership. I think think this is a similar idea to how privilege can also make it easier for people like me to get into positions of power.
However, what I recognize most about my privileges and how it has aided me into stepping into leadership is more what is in my brain. I am a strategic thinker and I see a larger purpose and can work to get others aligned with the overall vision. I am starting to wonder if my ability to think like this comes from the fact that I have lived a life of privilege. In my own journey, I think the fact that I did not have to worry about racism or sexism, made it easier to develop this strategic mindset. When faced with this discrimination, life is genuinely more difficult. There is no luxury to think higher level or bigger picture because the goal is just to survive each day. I think this points to a difficult cycle and pushing past it would be very difficult. If strategic thinking is ultimately what is needed to jump into leadership, how else can it be developed? I think the best leaders are those that are able to overcome these challenges and still be able to push forward to a better future for everyone. Each person that can do this makes life a little bit easier for the next generation which is able to grant individuals the ability to live in a world that they do not have to worry about what is only right in front of them.
In one of my previous posts, I discuss the difference between big picture thinking and small picture thinking. Those that live in the big picture thinking are able to push towards an overall goal. However, this can often come at a sacrifice of people living in small picture thinking. In a simplistic way, I have lived in the small picture thinking mentality at work. However, after my promotion into my current position, I started to look into ways that I could make the jobs of those in my previous role easier. I started to realize that when I tried to push for better solutions to issues, it sometimes required diplomacy and working with other teams. Well, those other teams had deadlines and stresses of their own. This often led to deadlines being pushed back. But for those that continue to face the challenges that we are delaying to solve, they are still suffering. In this example, I have a level of privilege that my coworkers do not. I am not working the same stresses that they are. It is very easy or convenient for me to tell other teams that it is okay to delay projects but that is because I am not living with those struggles. I think what is important for leaders to have is a level of empathy. This would be a way for a leader to understand that even though they are not facing the same challenges their followers are, it is important to always push to make things better for them.
All leaders, regardless of gender, race, or orientation, have privileges that others of similar backgrounds do not. However, I recognize that anyone that is not white, straight, and male will have fewer privileges as I will if they are at the same level of leadership status as I am. I think recognizing these thoughts is important because it helps me to ensure that I remember to keep pushing myself to get problems solved. Even if they do not directly impact me, if I have the power to fix something for others, I should try my best to get it in place as soon as I can.
