Our ancestors were right - the earth is flat...

And organisations flatter. In this hyper-connected virtual world, not everyone will have formal teams to lead. Individual contributor is the buzzword in new age Fintechs, Edutechs, BlahblahTechs.

So is leadership dead? Far from it! A legacy from our primal days, leadership is here to stay. Though the Alphas today don't have big numbers, drawn below their org charts. But then does leadership really need others?

A leader by its very definition is a person who leads. It doesn’t say anything about owning an army, marching to your drum beats!

Let’s try and debunk 7 such leadership myths of yore.

MYTH #1: You need people to lead.

REALITY: You lead yourself and people will get inspired to follow you. 

MYTH #2: Leaders always lead.

REALITY: The best leaders follow too - they select team members better than them & allow them centrestage.

MYTH #3: Leaders talk.

REALITY: Leaders listen. When a team feels genuinely heard, they’ll follow you till the end of this world.

MYTH #4: They focus on their team’s performance.

REALITY: They focus on their team’s motivation. Performance is an output, the quality of which depends on the most important WHY should your team do it?

MYTH #5: Projects are important.

REALITY: People are! Check on your team's wellbeing, their passion points, their strengths; and projects will get sorted as a by-product.

MYTH #6: Titles are important.

REALITY: Managers are built by titles, not leaders. You go to the most knowledgeable person in the team to learn. Or the most empathetic person to resolve a deadlock. Not to the SVP, CMO or HR Head.

MYTH #7: Leaders create value.

REALITY: Leaders create leaders. The biggest legacy anyone can leave behind is another human being developed to his/her fullest potential.

So tonight whilst going to bed, check what time have you set the alarm for? What will you do when you wake up? What will you do when no one is watching?

Are you rocking to the best of your ability, or moving to the carrot/stick applied by someone with a bigger title?

Are you leading yourself? Remember, your shadow is looking up to you.