Let's turn our attention to the "others" side of leadership. Having spent much of my life in leadership positions on various teams, one of my greatest questions has been "How can I lead in a way that makes the greatest possible impact for the greater whole?" It's been a perpetual question on my mind which waxes and wanes in strength from seasons of intense challenge to seasons of re-calibration. I'm guessing you can probably relate. My revelation came a few years ago from a mentor who is the chairman of an energy company. He'd become very familiar with my study of top leadership models. One day after a full day of work, he saw me scribbling in my notebook. Knowing me, he knew I was mind-mapping from the things I'd seen that day and continuing my work to crack the leadership code. He stopped and said similar to: "Reid, it's very easy, if you want to lead, serve. Great leaders who others will actually follow are those who serve." His comment was all too familiar at the time, especially after studying across the spectrum of servant leadership models from Robert Greenleaf to Tom Osborne to Lao Tzu.

I'd heard it all before, but that day I heard it from one of the best leaders I'd seen. I saw the way he sacrificed to provide for his employees, the way he courageously pursued ventures that would help communities in need, and the way he served his family and guests. It was different because I experienced a community who chose to follow him and I witnessed the association between giving and development. Since then, I've realized the extent to which this principle is embedded into society. Look around and you're likely to see that those with the most power are typically either of the controlling forceful type with structures built on fear or of the giving serving type with structures built on service. Servant-leadership is a strand of social DNA. 

Archimedes is known for saying "Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world." As you grow, remember the basics of leadership: you and others.  Your influence hinges on your level of self-management, and others choosing to follow you depends on if you serve them. These are the Archimedes Levers of Leadership.