Image courtesy Tambako The Jaguar
How do you define leadership? This is a question a mentor asked me several years ago. Coming from a background heavy in athletics, my paradigm was that of a student athlete, and my answer resembled what you might think of as a field marshal. Since then, I've observed that this is a question answered constantly in management work and definitions vary from group to group. It's important for each group to find a common definition so they start in the same place with running their organization. Here's a sampling of definitions I've heard: "to have followers", "to influence", "to move others to action", "the capacity to lead", "to be a moral authority", and "to move a group in the same direction".
There are many ways to look at it. Most overlap and most are good. When it comes to improving our own leadership of others, we can always be certain of two parts: the us (me) part and the them (others) part. In scouring theories and examining them in action, I've had a revelation on each.
The first revelation came from a brilliant man who's the chief executive of a fast-growing technology company. His definition of leadership is "self-management". By reaction, it seems like a strange definition, but with explanation it is profound. The definition has important premises. First, it assumes that everyone is a leader, which is true. Every person has a unique set of tools and purposes within a greater context. Second, it assumes that every person has yet to fully grow into their potential.
You've probably seen some of Michelangelo's famous sculptures like Moses, Pieta, or David. You may not have known that he believed his vision for each piece came from God, and that his job was not to create the art but to remove the marble getting in the way. In the same way, the leadership definition of "self-management" presupposes that much is in the way for one to positively influence at their full potential. From my experience, it's true. I am typically my own greatest impediment, and it's my job to better control my mind, attention, emotion, body, schedule, creativity, energy, etc. As I do, I sense an increase in my leadership ability. Not only do my "teams" select better targets, but we're more effective at hitting them. Not surprisingly, as I am a better self-manager, I notice that others are too. And, when I think back on my days in sports, I can remember the contagion of self-discipline in the weight room. It's interesting, major improvements tend to happen around leaders who we think are closer to self-mastery. It starts with self-management.