What's Your Definition Of "Leader" & "Leadership?"

I know...this may sound like a weird thing to ask.

But believe it or not, lots of leaders have a hard time answering this question. I interviewed over 140 CEOs around the world for my new book, The Future Leader.

I asked them questions about skills and mindsets, trends and challenges, opportunities, and what the future might hold.

They had no problem talking to me about these things and giving me brilliant answers and then asked them...

"Pretend I'm from another planet and have no concept of leadership or what it means to be a leader, how would you explain these things to me?"

This is where I got the long pauses...the "hmmm's," the "that's a good question," or the "nobody has ever asked me that before."

The truth is, we never take a step back to really think about and define these things. It's a bit like trying to explain and define water.

I can't remember a time in my life when someone asked me to explain water to them...can you?

Just like water, leadership is ubiquitous, it's all around us. We experience it when we watch tv, when we go to work, when we take our kids to soccer practice, and when we go grocery shopping.

As a result, we all think we know what good leadership is and who a good leader is.

But now, more than ever, we need to take a step back and define what it means to be a leader, and what good leadership looks like.

Whenever I work with an organization I'm always amazed that there are always leaders who everyone loves, admires, and respects...and in the same company there are leaders who everyone fears and hates.

It's the same company, with the same values, and the same culture, with two very different types of leaders who work, there, how is that possible?

It's because the people who promoted them have different definitions of leadership and what it means to be a leader.

But you cannot build and you cannot become what you don't define.

NOW, as things start to open back up, we need to take a step back and really ask ourselves what it means to lead and what it means to be a leader.

To help you, I put together a new PDF that will walk you through a framework to identify your leadership filters and come up with your own definition.

You will also hear directly from some of the CEOs I interviewed and how they define leader and leadership. This will be an invaluable resource during your leadership journey.

Click here to grab a copy of the PDF.