Leadership is definitely in fashion.

But because people are talking so much about Leadership, without understanding the real meaning and purpose, leadership needs to be better understood.

Leadership is for everyone and not just for some.

The word “spends” on countless promotions of events, courses, trainings and workshops, and is used over and over again as a meaning of power, silent emotion, ego, or an executive’s dream and hope of feel one day, recognized or idolized by countless people from the team, organization or country.

Leadership is not a post, not a name, not a position. And leading is not just for leaders, bosses, and directors. Leadership belongs to all human beings, belongs to life, teams, and organizations.

Leading is a way of being and living. You learn in a social environment and not in an individual way. Not in the theater of imagination but real life. It takes time, attitude and service. Consistency and resilience in the path of evolution, from executive to leader.

But because it is not deterministic, leadership is complex. It is personal and social art, built on the individual and professional process, in the space of life or organization.

Leads better who can live better with you and others. Cooperates more who more easily relates to others. The sense of leadership is the greatest sense of humanity, that everyone can live and work better together.

Leadership is confused with position and that is why many employees who assume a position of leadership, confuse leadership, influence, function, operationalize. They confuse ranking with personal positioning. Responding hierarchically to the boss is one thing, the following is another.

The executive’s ambition to have people following him to control takes personal magnetism and charisma out of his “leadership.” Being a teacher, guru, boss, people, and a team, organization, or country with thousands of people, interferes with your ego.

In this way of being, the executive confuses the true essence of leadership and blurs the likelihood of presenting himself in the difference of his individuality. Their normality in the unanimity of society results in the mediocrity of their leadership style.

The leadership process is an arduous path. It intertwines with the process of identity of each professional, with their own life and their cycle of interaction with themselves and others.

An executive with a high level of self-awareness develops the likelihood of having a more harmonious, more humanistic, more real and less toxic leadership style for all employees.

Someone who sees himself as a leader, not being a leader, is highly detrimental to the well-being and performance of the company. A “pseudo leader” is worse than a bad leader.

Unfortunately, leadership learning is poorly framed in management curricula. The teaching of leadership is confused with that of management. Leadership and management require very different skills and abilities.

Managing people is not the same as managing an organization. A licensed management executive is not automatically qualified to lead people.

In Leadership, whoever wants to be “First” must first learn to be “Second.” This requires personal and social knowledge not gained through the chairs of finance, marketing, accounting, or human resource management. The “leadership certificate” is received from others and is not earned individually.

Leadership study and learning subjects are diverse and multidisciplinary, not compartmentalized in the aesthetics of morality but deeply rooted in the ethics of human essence.

I leave this theme open for an upcoming conversation with you.

Food for thoughts
What do you want to reach as an executive?
And as a human being?

Article written for Link to Leaders – 1 Dec 2017