Leadership, leading people from behind
True leadership must be for the benefit of the followers, not the enrichment of the leaders, in combat officers eat last.
Most people in big companies today are administred, not led, they are treated as personnel not as people, something is happening to our world we do not use leadership as we use to, what happened with visionaries like George Washington, Ben Franklins, Thomas Jeffersons and not the last Martin Luther King Jr. ?
I am afraid Leadership is becoming a lost art, most hierarchies are nowadays so cumbered with rules and traditions bounded by public law, that even high employees do not have to lead anyone anywhere, in the sense of pointing out direction and setting the pace, they simpli follow precedents, obey regulations and move at the head of the crowd, such employees lead only in the sense that the carved wooden figurehead leads the ship.
How to spot a leader? They come in all ages, shapes, sizes and conditions, some are poor administrators, some are not overly bright you need to take in consideration that since most people have a nice CV, the true leader can be recognized because, somehow or other, his people consistently turn in superior performances.
As for the best leaders, people do not notice their existence, when the best leader's work is done the people say, we did it ourselves!