Nov 28 2007
What is Leadership?
“Leaders are born, not made.”
“Managers manage things; leaders lead people.”
“The most successful people have the mind of a manager and the heart of a leader.”
Getting a handle on the concept, definition, or framework of leadership is not simple. Leadership can be scientifically measured and analyzed; yet, that intangible and perhaps individual attribute that makes great leaders is ambiguous. It can be visible, yet unseen.
There are thousands of books, studies, and articles written about leadership. Organizations in many industries and services spend billions of dollars finding, training, and retaining successful leaders. Those of us who seek to become better leaders collectively spend millions of dollars on books about the characteristics of leadership with catchy titles like: “The 10 Qualities of a Leader” or “Common Traits of Successful Leadership.” These titles grab people’s attention, but sometimes, the common sense in these articles or books is so obvious one might wonder why anyone would pay for this information.
What Makes a Leader Great?
1. They are Teachable. A successful leader is always enrolled in the college of life, and their ‘major’ is learning from their teammates, coworkers, subordinates, peers, supervisors, etc. The best teacher may be younger, older, more experienced, less experienced, brand new, or seasoned. In other words, I firmly believe that everyone has something to offer those who are willing to listen, learn, and apply new information to their lives. To be teachable, one must be approachable, open, and ready to learn. If a manager begins to believe that he or she “has arrived,” reached the pinnacle, or become an expert, there is great danger that he or she will stop learning and growing, become stagnant, and merely be a manager—not a leader.
2.They are Entrepreneurial. Successful leaders treat all employees as if they owned the business. This emphasizes ownership of responsibilities, decisions and outputs, Also, peers and subordinates will quickly become fellow stakeholders when the leader is willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish the tasks needed for success.
3. They have a Sense of Urgency. Time to plan and decide is needed, but successful leaders are all about action. They know that time can be a precious commodity and is a limited resource, so acting swiftly and decisively is a key component to continued prosperity in business and organizations.
One writer summed up this concept of leadership nicely when he wrote: “Leadership appears to be the art of getting others to want to do something that you are convinced should be done”. The key phrase is “to want to do.” Leadership must not be coercive—it must be persuasive. Thus, the teachable becomes the teacher, the entrepreneur becomes the CEO, and urgency becomes a cultural norm for a thriving organization.