Leadership is not about you.

It’s not about you.  It’s not about your success. It’s not about your work.  It’s not about your salary,  paycheck, benefits, amenities.  It’s not about your intelligence,  experience,  knowledge.  It’s not about your professional attire,  your height,  your good looks.

Leadership is not about you.

Organizations are made of people.  Without people,  leaders and organizations are irrelevant. For leaders to be successful,  people must be successful.

It’s about the people.

Genuine leaders understand they are only successful when their team thrives: when all are passionate about their role in achieving success for their customers.

1)  They achieve a level of trust that team members often don’t give each other…because they genuinely care. They work toward transparency, clarity.  They manage conflict and practice openness.

2)  They understand success is shared by the organization and measured by the customer. Genuine leaders see themselves within a larger structure. They live and share the mission of the organization

3) They specialize in understanding others. They work to help others achieve personal success on the team or in other areas that help the organization achieve the mission.

4) They celebrate risk and tolerate failure. They have your back. They understand the valuable benefits of innovation for the people and the business. The status quo is not enough.

5) They work themselves out of a job. Leaders transfer knowledge to empower others to be successful. They seek opportunities for others to step into their role and learn.

Leaders understand the value in developing others. They coach,  encourage,  and empower while they effectively manage the work and organizational dynamics.

Leaders understand it is not their win,  their success,  or their competition.  It’s the people working together as partners to achieve success for the whole- that is what leadership is all about.

When leaders truly lead,  their teams experience 33-40% increase in productivity.  I have observed these stats first- hand. People are happier,  more likely to achieve a level of loyalty that is quite rare.

So what is holding us back from strong leadership? What can we do individually to “manage up” and help others be more effective at the work they want to do?