The Real Leaders

I've been doing a lot of thinking about real leadership. A lot of people disguise behaviour as leadership. Playing hard and going the extra mile is leadership. Standing back and letting the boss be the boss. When it matters you stand up and get it done.

Hogwash.

Leadership is about setting people up for success. It is about empowering people to perform better than they ever believed was possible. The problem with a lot of people is they don't realize to do this long before things get tough.

Great leaders set people up to be successful before they know what the problem is going to be. They empower people so they feel strong and talented everyday, so when the moments that matter happen, all you have to do is tell them this is just like every other day and we can handle it. Being a great leader is about setting things up so extraordinary challenges seem almost routine.

So, how do you do this.

First, you get to know people. You get to know what makes them tick and what's important to them as a person. But everyone knows this.

Then you have to make them feel special. You have to show them why they are great. Not everyone is great for the same reason but everyone has something to offer and you build off that.

Once you make them feel special, you need to show them the way to success. This is not a step by step instruction on how to do the job but an understanding of where you are and where you need to get to. Keep in mind, you are doing this before you know what the big challenge is going to be. You have to make them understand where their strength lies and how to leverage their talents. You also have to make them understand their weaknesses and how to minimize or overcome their challenges.

Now, if you have done this properly, when the time for leadership comes, you have done the hard part. Now, all you do is remind them how good they are and they have been doing this all along and presto, the team is successful.

For all this to work you must admit when you are not very good at something. It's not a sign of weakness, its shows you are honest with yourself and the people around you. It is not easy being the one people are expected to look to for leadership, and admit we are not the best, good, or downright bad. However, you have to. If you want to guide people away from weaknesses to what they do best, you have to know what you are bad at.

If you want to lead, speak up before it matters. Know the people around you. Admit when you aren't very good. Then, you will be a great leader, by anybody's standard.