3 types of leaders
“Leadership” seems to be one of those words that is used in a very overused way today. Not too different from “successful” and “motivational” and “outside the box.” What the hell do those words really mean? The answer lies in a slight variation on that question; What do those words mean TO YOU?
One perspective on “leadership” is that there are 3 types of “leaders”.
The first is a title leader. If you go into any kindergarten classroom in this country, the teachers elect “leaders” every day. To be a “leader,” one does not have to have any special skills, knowledge, or credentials. They just need to be the first to line up that day. They are “the leader”. So what does the teacher tell the other children in the class to do? That’s right… “follow the leader.” Now in kindergarten, following the leader is an effective and usually effective way of moving multiple children in an orderly fashion. However, in adulthood, following the leader who is nothing more than a “leader” in title is often neither efficient nor effective.
The second type is a good leader. There are people who have been put into a leadership role of some kind who have respect for their team, their team has respect for them, they have things they need to accomplish and they accomplish those things. Pretty efficient. Pretty effective. It is what it is.
The third guy is a great leader. There is not as big a jump from good to great as you think. The difference is quite simple. “Great Leaders” do not create followers; “Great leaders” create other leaders. That last line is worth rereading. How do they do that? The first type of “leader” goes through the motions and simply “walks their dogs” every day. The second type of “leader” puts real and genuine effort into “leading” a team of followers. He or she is often good at “getting others to do things” and “making sure others are on task.” “Great leadership” is less about looking over people’s shoulders and more about empowering others to look over their own shoulders.
Of course, we all know that if you give a man a fish you feed him for a day, but if you teach him to fish you feed him for the rest of his life. That is the difference between “great leaders” and any other type of “leader”.
What kind of leader are you? You may have many leadership titles in your life: Director, Manager, Mom, Dad, Friend, Coach, Teacher, Business Owner. Are you walking dogs or are you empowering others? If you’re not sure of the answer… look at the results you’re getting. They will yell the answer at you.
Get clarity. Move. Have results.
