While anyone and everyone at a senior level call themselves as part of the leadership team, it doesn’t make each of them a leader, even though many make that assumption.
After being a part of the corporate scene for more than three decades on all sides of the table, I have seen many people claiming to be a leader by virtue of their titles/position. Always remember, that leadership is not a position or a title. You may have the title of a CEO or Director or President …but what makes you a real Leader?
I have had several bosses in my career but just a handful of them can be truly called leaders. How did I decide on them being true leaders? I use a few simple questions to evaluate leadership.
- Are they genuine and authentic?
- Do they lead from the front?
- Are they good listeners?
- Do they have clarity?
- How responsible and accountable are they? To themselves and to their constituents?
- Are they trusting, and trustworthy?
Am sure that each one of us has our own yardstick to evaluate true leadership. Do share yours in the comments !
Leadership is one of the most researched topic and several papers, articles, books etc have been written on this subject. Here is another fantastic blog post on the subject with a focus on leadership conversation from Forbes magazine.
Do read something Bindu wrote as well in 2014 – Elections and Leadership lessons – 1. Clarity
Communication is not what you say but what the other person understands. As clarity improves understanding, listen to clarify better.