What Leaders REALLY Do…..

I’ve seen hundreds of definitions of leaders & leadership over my career – in the private sector, the military, schools, etc. Most definitions are silly, simplistic and/or incomplete, such as “Leaders care about others” or “Leading is about building other leaders”(especially popular feel-good memes on LinkedIn by the likes of Simon Sinek, etc.)- If caring was all that mattered your average social worker could be CEO or an Army General – anybody think that’s a good idea?

So, the very best definition that covers virtually any organization, any leader, any follower’s thoughts goes like this:

“Leaders cause desirable things to happen with and through others that will not otherwise happen on their own”

Any leader who cannot do this is useless as a leader.

Furthermore, a “leader” who desires to merely steward the the inevitable, is but a passenger or bureaucrat at best. Happy LinkedIn or Facebook memes stating such things as “Leadership is about caring for your people” or “Leadership is all about relationships” or “Great Leaders must be Passionate” or ” Great Leaders must build talent” – these are feel-good and cutesy, perhaps even go with the real work of leadership, but silly as end-state goals of leadership. Anybody who believes such limited, singular, simplistic definitions should never be put in charge of anything.

Without exception, leadership is about delivering desired/required results in some preferred, defined way – yes, by influencing, motivating, empowering, caring for others, etc. but these ENABLE results – they are not the main charge of any leader.

Think about this……………………..