Understanding Leadership

Understanding Leadership

What is leadership and why does it seem so hard for us to figure it out?

As a very young man, I was intrigued by the concept of how to become a leader. I wanted to take on responsibility, to help others, and contribute to the success of the organizations that I was a part of. I was fortunate to have excellent mentors and insightful education in the idea that leadership is not positional. As a business development consultant working with many organizations over the past 25 years I have seen many people who have been placed in positions of leadership who were not leaders. Truth be told they were not even very good managers. We all have seen them. People who’ve been given the title (CEO, Director, Manager, Supervisor, etc.) but are the least functional and least helpful person in the building.

Leadership is influence. Let that sink in for a moment...Leadership is an influence that is created by serving others and providing an example to others on how to function and how to exist. True leaders don’t just tell people to work hard, they show them what hard work looks like. They earn the love, respect, and admiration of those around them by providing a pattern for them to follow. Once your troops are inspired by your example they will go anywhere and do anything for you. The trick is they want to go with you and you can’t lead where you won’t go yourself.

If leadership is influence then it can’t be assigned to someone. It Has to be earned, organically created. It’s created in an environment where relationships foster opportunities for us to have a positive and powerful impact on the lives of others.

If all of this is true, then being a leader is a conscious act, it’s a series of consistent choices that we make on a regular basis that allow us to rise as influencers among our peers. Our example, our work ethic, our character, allows us to stand out as someone who should be followed.

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