What is Leadership?

Last Friday we had the privilege of facilitating a leadership team through a discussion on what leadership meant to them and whether leadership development was essential to achieving their mission.

We addressed some great questions, like “if everyone is a leader, is anyone a leader?” and “what is the difference between being a leader and having a title (positional leader)?”

This is an important discussion because it creates alignment within a team about the behaviors (actions) that are essential for their practice of leadership. The reality is that there is no generally accepted definition of leadership.

Lots of opinions exist but no one has come up with a definition of leadership because it is as unique as each leader. Everyone brings different skills, strengths, and experience to their leadership. However, there are some basic elements that are essential.

1. Leadership is ACTION – which actions do you associate with leadership? Leadership is about doing. What are the essential behaviors that demonstrate leadership? During an exercise we facilitate for every Your Leadership Voice session, we ask participants to identify great leaders and then list the qualities that make them great. That’s a good start on getting clear on essential leadership behaviors.
2. Leadership is SERVICE – this gets at motivation or why you lead. Who are you serving with your leadership and why?
3. Leadership is about IMPACT – this is the result of leadership. What result needs to occur from leadership?

As you are crafting a definition of leadership, consider the actions, the motivation and the impact that are part of that definition.

If you are part of a leadership team, consider how to create a common definition so that you have a clear and consistent approach to leadership within your organization. Then put a leadership development process in place to ensure that the whole organization has the same understanding. This enables an organization to collectively grow people in their unique abilities while maintaining alignment to the common purpose and vision for leadership.