If I were to ask you to think of a great leaders…
My guess is the first person that comes to mind might be charismatic or outgoing, perhaps a great orator, a larger than life public figure, or one that’s often obscured behind a battalion of microphones on a stage. At least that’s often how they’re represented in the media.
Yet when we’re asked to think of those leaders in our life that have really made a difference for us.
Someone to have positively changed us.
Someone we willingly follow.
Someone we truly trust and respect.
That’s a leader that has made a personal difference for us.
The best leaders support other in doing their best work and being their best selves
Leadership is not necessarily a public act.
Leaders build personal connections.
Leaders work for people, not themselves. They put the others first. They’re selfless.
Leaders make you feel safe. They care for you.
Leaders take responsibility.
Many people like this, leaders, rarely do this work in public. Indeed, leadership may often go unseen, the selfless act. It’s intent that matters, leaders seeking to give are more productive than those seeking benefit. If there’s no intent to benefit, it is seldom necessary to be seen to be giving.
In the tumult of our current political landscape, the most public of (so called) “leadership” positions, I assert there are few real leaders. The two major political parties bidding, in their words, to manage the country. With little on view ascribing to true leadership.
Managers want authority. Leaders take responsibility.
Seth Godin
It’s fair to say that few of our politicians are willing to take full responsibility, but they’ll take all the authority they can get.
Here’s a simple leadership test: Who is this person working for? Are they working for themselves or for the others? Only the latter is a leader.
This does not need to be a public act.
AI image generated out of Canva
