Have you seen my team? I need to find them, I’m their leader.
It’s not a cliche. Leadership is not about the leader, yet many forget.
By Jose Ruiz
If you collected every single article that defines leadership, you’d probably have reading material for a many years and you’d probably go crazy with ideas and suggestions on how to improve your leadership skills.
Leadership is much like parenting. You can read a lot, you can be taught, you can be mentored and guided, but in the end your leadership style will be unique to your experiences and specific situations. There will seldom be black or white answers. However, just like parenting, the one irrefutable characteristic about true leadership is that it is not about you. Good leadership is not reflected in the leader’s actions, it is reflected in the impact and effect of those actions on the team.
This is not a plea for servant leadership, a humble leader, leading from the back, or leading softly. I believe in that, but I don’t believe a good leader can, or should be that all the time. A leader should adapt to the environment and what the team needs today without losing sight of what will be needed tomorrow and always preparing for that moment when he or she will no longer be there. Guaranteeing the growth and sustainability of the team and the individuals that comprise it beyond the leader’s time is the ultimate trait of a great leader. In fact, the true success of a leader can not be measured without considering the results of the succession plan.
Jose Ruiz is a Principal in Heidrick & Struggles’ Monterrey office. As an executive recruiter he has worked on executive search projects for multinational clients in industrial sectors and consumer markets.
About Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc.
The world’s premier provider of senior-level executive search and leadership consulting services. The firm’s executive recruiters and leadership experts operate from principal business centers in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific. In Mexico, Heidrick & Struggles operates offices in Mexico City and Monterrey. For more information about Heidrick & Struggles please visit www.heidrick.com
Good points about leadership. The leader today needs to be very flexible and situational which is a result of being self aware and emotionally intelligent. Leaders need to remember that their style affects the culture of their organizations.
Fact#1 – Leadership is – Getting things done through others.
Fact#2 – Leaders get paid on what staff does – Not on what they do.
Fact#3 – Leaders need staff more than staff needs the leader
If above is true – There is but one conclusion.
Do everything in your power to help staff be successful. Leader is successful when staff is successful.
Another point worth mentioning is that the ultimate test of a leader is how the team will perform without the leader and succession planning is only part of it. Leader can go on a prolonged vacation or get sick, but the team should prevail.
Leadership is about knowing and serving the needs of the team members for which you lead
Blessed is the leader who seeks the best for those he serves.