A very wise person recently commented to me that leadership is easy. If someone calls you THEIR leader, you are one.
Put aside the hundreds of courses on leadership, the mentors and coaches, the books and videos – the bottom line is that nothing makes you a true leader until someone calls you one.
Leadership is earned, not acquired. Great leaders lead people who look up to them, respect them and follow them.
Lousy leaders have the title on the door… period. Lousy leaders certainly have followers but these people do so out of obligation not because they respect them nor look up to them
If you want to be a leader you need to earn the title.
So how do we get people to call us leaders?
- Talk the talk all the time. Be decisive. Present with authority. Connect with your people at all levels.
- Walk the walk. Own your decisions. Take responsibility for the failures. Share the glory with the team for the wins.
- Know your business – from top to bottom. Connect every part of the business to the long and short term goals and strategies. Make everyone feel a part of it.
That’s my short list. There are lots of ways you can earn the title. But you have to earn it.
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