Leadership at its core is about harnessing others' efforts to achieve something no one can achieve alone. It's about helping people go as far as they can with the talents and skills they have.
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That definition is simply this: Leadership is the art of getting people to want to do what must be done.
Notice three things about this definition. First, as a leader, it’s your responsibility to figure out what must be done. You might do this by your own insight and instinct or, more likely, via dialogue and debate with the right people; but however you do it, you need to get clear. Second, it’s not about getting people to do what must be done but about getting them to want to do it. Third, it’s not a science; it’s an art.
A classic definition of leadership is inspiring others to perform and achieve a shared vision. This is true, but I would rephrase this definition of leadership as the art of building trust and meaningful connections in an environment where results matter. The leader is in charge of supporting the team, and this requires interdependence: being in relationship with others who depend on you just as you depend on them.
Helping others is leadership. It means noticing what is needed in a group, family, company, or community. It means noticing when others need assistance or attention and trying to provide it. It means cultivating empathy, listening, and being open to other people’s experience, and looking for ways and opportunities to be of service. Leaders regularly ask: How might I help?
As a leader, you are the embodiment of that company. What that means is this: Your values—your sense of integrity and decency and honesty, the way you comport yourself in the world—are a stand-in for the values of the company. You can be the head of a seven-person organization or a quarter-million- person organization, and the same truth holds: what people think of you is what they’ll think of your company.
That definition is simply this: Leadership is the art of getting people to want to do what must be done. Leadership is not a personality. Leadership is not charisma. Leadership is not power. Leadership is not giving orders. Leadership has nothing to do with position or rank or title or any of that. True leadership only exists if people follow when they would otherwise have the freedom to not follow.
I want you to notice three elements of this definition. First, as a leader, it’s your responsibility to see what must be done. You might do this by your own insight or in collaboration with others, but however you do it, you need to get clear. Second, it’s not about getting people to do what must be done but about getting them to want to do it. Third, it’s not a science; it’s an art. And it is this third element— the artistry— where leadership intersects with this study. Each of us is a different “leadership artist” because each of us has different encodings.