About one out of ten people in the workforce is classified as a supervisor, administrator, or manager. Not every one of these people is a true leader. Yet the problems these people experience often stem from the leadership portions of their job. Many individual contributors refuse to accept a leadership role because of the frustrations they have seen leaders endure. These frustrations include the following:

Too much uncompensated overtime. People in leadership jobs are usually expected to work longer hours than other employees, often 55 and up to 80 hours per week. Such unpaid hours are called casual overtime. Facing a perform-or-perish mentality. Many leaders face an enormous amount of pressure to either perform or be fired. Executive leaders are often expected to make the company profitable by slashing costs, boosting sales, paying down debt and improving operations.

Not enough authority to carry out responsibility. People in managerial positions often complain that they are held responsible for things they cannot control. As a leader, you might be expected to produce high-quality service with too small a staff and no authority to become fully staffed. Loneliness. The higher you rise as a leader, the lonelier you will be in a certain sense. Leadership limits the number of people in whom you can confide.

Too many problems involving people. A major frustration facing a leader is the number of human resource problems requiring action. This is an essential part of the job and often the lower your leadership position, the more such problems you face. Too much organizational politics. People at all levels of an organization, from the office assistant to the chairperson of the board, must be aware of political factors. Political tactics such as forming alliances and coalitions are a necessary part of a leader’s role.