In this post, I’m going to try and give you a concrete answer to the question: what is leadership?

Leadership is the personal habit of taking selfless action to support the goals and needs of the people around you.

Whoa. Heavy stuff, I know. Let’s break this down into its constituent parts and flesh this out a bit.

Leadership is Personal

When I say that leadership is a personal, I mean to say that it’s something that a single person owns. It’s not something that can be assigned to someone. Of course, an engineer can be assigned to a leadership role, but what we’re discussing in the idea of leadership, not something that you find on an org chart. Leadership is personal – a person can chose to act like a leader or not, regardless of what’s written on their business card.

Leadership is a Habit

One of my mentors and closest friends shared an incredible quote with me. It’s from Aristotle, and he said “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” I LOVE this quote. I think that “leadership” could be used in place of “excellence” in this quote. I think this is an important concept for a number of reasons. For one, I think Aristotle is right – we are what we repeatedly do. You need to act like a leader day in and day out if you expect to become one. The same goes for any personal development – from developing time management skills or communication skills, or anything else. Practice makes perfect.

The other reason I think this is important is that it builds credibility. Can you imagine how difficult it would be to work with a leader who only played the part during major staff meetings, then totally “turned off” their leadership mode for the rest of the day? How could you put your faith in someone like that? If you’re truly a leader, or truly anything for that matter, it needs to be part of your modus operandi. Day in, and day out.

Leadership is Selfless

This one may come as a shock to some, but it’s true. Leaders are concerned first and foremost with the success of their team (or family, or organization, or department, etc.). They do not concern themselves with collecting accolades or praise, and their actions support that. In his books Good to Great and Great by Choice, business researcher Jim Collins looks at some of the most successful companies in the United States, and opens up their hoods to see what makes them tick. One of his key findings is that their leaders are selfless. They don’t want the spotlight. They often credit their companies’ successes to other people. Collins says they have “Deep personal humility combined with intense professional will”. Leadership isn’t about promotion of the self, it’s about supporting your colleagues.

Leadership is Action

Leadership is about doing things. Nobody ever won a contract, built a bridge, or delivered a product by just planning to do it. Of course, you have to start with a plan, but a plan without action is a waste of time. Your actions don’t have to be grandiose, they just have to be meaningful. Leaders add value to their teams by taking action on a daily basis. Even something as simple as giving someone your full attention when they come to chat with you can be a powerful action. Remember, Nike’s slogan isn’t “Just think about it”, and there’s good reason for that.

Leadership is Supportive of Goals and Needs

This is key. Leaders don’t tell people what to do. They help people get things done. Leaders empower, teach, guide, and otherwise make it easier for teams to do what they set out to do. Leaders have a keen understanding of what their team is trying to accomplish, even if the team itself has lost sight of the end goal. Everything a leader does is in some way supportive of the goals and needs of the team. A true leader never sees him or herself as being above the team, rather, they see them selves as being behind their team.

Leadership is Focused on People

Everything I’ve said up to now falls like a house of cards if you forget the fact that leadership is a service to people. Excellent leaders never forget that their purpose is to serve the people around them. That means treating their teams, families, and organizations with dignity and respect – treating them as they themselves would want to be treated. A leader will not last very long if they forget this critical element.

What Do You Think?

What’s your definition of leadership? Tell us in the comments section below! And don’t forget to subscribe to the blog and follow me on Twitter.