Leader worth following
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Everything rises and falls on leadership. For that reason, organizations worldwide seek to attract and develop great leaders. So, What’s one of the best measures of great leadership?
A couple of years ago, I was evaluating a business opportunity with a leader I didn’t know. He is incredible; we had great conversations about business, family, and faith. Everything checked out. Throughout the process, I met the team and even had meaningful conversations with many of them. One conversation in particular made it clear that this leader was genuinely exceptional.
It was a conversation with one of his employees, “Laura.” She shared her career path so far, how she came to work for the company, and what she hopes to do in the future. When I asked about her leader, she shared many great things, but one thing she said had me stunned.
She said, “I would follow him to the ends of the earth.”
Throughout my career, I’ve often sought to understand leadership to grow and help others develop as leaders. Although I had explored countless measures of great leadership, my conversation with “Laura” highlighted one that I believe is one of the best, if not the best.
John Maxwell is correct; everything rises and falls on leadership. For that reason, people seek the best methods to grow as leaders. Organizations seek to hire and develop the best leaders. Academic institutions worldwide now offer leadership programs across many disciplines. We can all agree that leadership matters.
What we may have differing views on is what leadership even means. Leadership expert Peter Northouse notes that there are almost as many definitions of leadership as people who have tried to define it.
For our purposes, here are three definitions that I have often referred to when trying to define leadership. (Click here to answer a short survey on what leadership means to you).
“Leadership is influence” - John Maxwell.
“Leadership is the lifting of a man’s vision to higher sights, the raising of a man’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a man’s personality beyond its normal limitations.” - Peter Drucker.
Leadership is “the art of mobilizing others to want to struggle for shared aspirations.” - Kouzes & Posner.
Each definition highlights an essential aspect of leadership that I’ve come to appreciate.
John Maxwell’s definition allows us to understand the simplicity of leadership and the fact that it is possible for everyone.
Peter Drucker’s definition allows us to understand that leadership begins with the individual.
Kouzes & Posner’s definition allows us to understand that leadership is designed to make an impact on others while pursuing something worthwhile.
My conversation with “Laura,” my leadership experience, and my studies on the topic have led me to the following statement about the best measure of leadership. While other measures give us insight into how we’ve grown as leaders, this measure provides insights into how we’ve used our influence to impact lives.
The best measure of leadership and aspiration of any leader is to be a leader worth following.
Great leaders are leaders worth following.
2 Questions
Would you follow you?
What is one practical thing you can put in place this week to be a leader worth following?