What is Leadership?

I have incorporated into my article quotes from influential leaders and my own management experiences of over 20 years as we strive to answer this question, “what is leadership?”

Quote #1 — Leadership is not a position or a title, it is action and example

Throughout my management career of over 20 years, I can honestly say, I understand the difference between being a manager and a leader. This quote is so true. You can be the best manager, where you manage business processes and operations effectively and deliver on business performance, but not be a good leader. People don’t follow titles, they follow leaders.

I had a manager, in my early working career that had a base operandi of threats, negativity and force. He was always on the company list as the centre which achieved all of its targets monthly and his name was put forward regularly as the Centre Manager of the Month. But the people in the centre were miserable, overworked, tired, fearful and wanting to leave. Because work was difficult to come by in our small town, for many of them, they were trapped as getting another job was non-existent.

Quote #2 — No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit for doing it

Andrew Carnegie, known for his wealth and being one of the richest men in the United States, makes a great point here in regards to leadership. The art of leadership is helping others to reach their potential and giving them all the credit for doing it. A great leader does not look for self promotion or to take credit for all of the teams great work. In fact, the two most powerful attributes that a great leader has is an unrelenting desire to succeed but a humility that aims to lift others and promote the team instead of themselves. These two attributes are found in every great leader.

I had a manager that loved to do “everything his way” and if you did not like it then you could “hit the highway.” He would often say to us, if you don’t like it then you can leave. As his staff members it became difficult to contribute to many of the discussions involving how we did things, as the boss was adamant that his way was always the best. One of the things that lowered our view of his management was when he got it wrong, he was quick to blame others for the idea. In fact, he had no problems throwing one of us under the bus with upper management. It became difficult to trust what he said to us.

Quote #3 — If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader

John Quincy Adams, was the 6th President of the United States and provides the ultimate goal of any true leader. To help and inspire others through their influence and leadership to dream, learn, do and become more.

You know when you are a good leader, because you have people following you. Followers will ask three questions of their leader — Can I Trust You? Do You Care About Me? and Are you Committed to Excellence.” If you turn around and find no one is following you, they have answered “no” to one of those questions.

I had a manager who inspired us as a team to achieve more. We knew that she supported our decisions and ideas to improve our performance measures. She was there when things went wrong, helped us through the challenging times and made sure we had all the resources to perform. When we did achieve she appropriated all credit and success to our team, even though we knew it was her with us in the trenches. She was both our manager and leader.

Quote #4 — Clarity is the key to effective leadership. What are your goals?

Brian Tracy, is a Canadian-American motivational public speaker and self-development author. I have studied much of his work and he is the best in my opinion. He alludes to one of the most important aspects of great leadership and that is having a clear vision, a business clarity on where the company is going. A leader is able to share that vision with others so they follow.

When a business has no clear vision or organizational goal, people will choose their own or quickly lose the reason or purpose for their work. As a leader, when you are clear on what you are trying to achieve and share that with the team and they catch that same vision and goal, you are on the right track to stronger and greater performance.

When you come everyday to work and you lack a lofty but achievable goal, work can become uninspiring, unmotivational and a place where you can’t wait to leave and go home. This can be a very unhealthy work environment where everyone is selfish and self-centered.

Quote #5 — A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way

John C Maxwell, an American author, speaker, and pastor, addresses what a true leader achieves everyday. They know the way to go, they are going that way themselves and showing others the way.

A leader is someone who knows the way because they have knowledge and experience, however they are not there to force people but to help them see the way themselves. They will show them the way and let them make the decision to choose the way.

Leaders have great communication skills, they show people the way by effectively sharing the message, telling the story and helping people formulate the vision in their own minds. Once they have the vision in their mind they are more likely to chose the way.

One of the greatest leaders in my working career, had an effective skill in being able to identify our business goals with such clarity and an ability to share that clarity with us as staff. He would focus on the benefits of our business to our clients and what our ultimate goal was as an organization. We saw through the stories he shared of clients being happy with our service. As I saw these clients being helped through our service, I was proud of what we did and I could see how my individual performance could add value to our business. I was caught up in the vision of where we were going as a business.

Conclusion

The following quotes are in no way exhaustive here. There are many others which can be added and discussed further. In conclusion, leadership is a “way of being,” or something that is deeper than just behavioral. There are no behaviors that can make you a good leader, no eye contact tricks, no leaning forward in your chair tips, no saying good morning or good night after work.

Leadership is found deep down within you, its how you genuinely feel about others, how you choose to see others, how you choose to accept and treat those in your team or on your staff.

The key to leadership is seeing people, through your way of being, as “people,” not as merely “objects.”