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Break Out the Dictionary

Craft Your Own Definition of Leadership

EVERY LEADER needs to be grounded in what leadership actually means. If you don’t know how to define the very thing you’re trying to do, how can you be successful at it? Seems obvious, but you’d be surprised by the number of leaders who don’t know how to adequately explain leadership. When asked, “What does leadership mean to you?” many leaders are stumped; they’re unable to offer a concise definition of the practice and art of leading others. Do you want to work for someone who can’t define his or her role or purpose?

Being able to define leadership is a must if you’re going to demonstrate great leadership. You need to be able to articulate what leadership means to you. When a junior team member asks you what leadership means, you need to be able to easily call up your answer—your elevator speech on leadership. Trust me, this is important. Down through the years, I’ve conducted about a thousand interviews with executives in all types of organizations, and I begin every conversation with this question: “What does leadership mean to you?” By my unofficial count, about two-thirds of the leaders I’ve interviewed have handled this question with ease and quickly shared their definitions of leadership. Many of them have been quite good, too. However, the other one-third of executives have struggled with this question, fumbling for words to describe what they spend their entire day doing. This might not be so alarming were it not for the rest of the story. In my work, I also talk to the people who report to these leaders. These conversations generally go one of two ways: either they describe their leaders as “the real deal—I love working for them” or they offer (with much frustration) the following observation, “they’re clueless; they don’t get it.” Again, this is unscientific, but there appears to be a significant correlation between the leaders who can’t articulate what leadership means and the “clueless” set. Ouch! Being able to share your definition of leadership seems to be one of the signs of a successful leader. This makes sense to me; if you’re doing something all day, shouldn’t you be able to describe it?

Crafting Your Definition of Leadership

There’s an easy way to develop your own definition of leadership. Start by reading The Leadership Machine by Bob Eichinger and Michael Lombardo. The authors present an impressive body of research that lists sixty-seven distinct leadership competencies, or traits, and contend that leaders must exhibit most (if not all) of these competencies when leading in today’s organizations. On this list (or most any collection of leadership competencies), you’ll find traits that will help you define what leadership means to you. Examples include: vision, strategic thinking, passion, courage, integrity, innovative, empowers others, customer focused, credibility, authenticity, optimism, and communication skills. These traits or skills are the building blocks of leadership.

Review a competency list and identify the traits that resonate with you. This is a different exercise than identifying your strengths (see Chapter 7). This is about articulating what you want to be known for as a leader. How do you want to be remembered? What do you want your legacy to be? Match this view of yourself to the competencies that best describe your desired leadership persona. If you are demonstrating and leveraging the very leadership traits that you most want to be associated with, chances are you’re “walking the talk,” that is, your behaviors mirror your desired leadership traits. Here’s my list of traits I believe a leader must have: credibility, vision, integrity, courage, passion, and optimism. This list helps me stay grounded in how I want to lead myself and others. Choosing your essential leadership competencies is a great way to get oriented with the language of leadership. Then, when someone asks you what makes a great leader, you have your list of competencies and can say: “I think a leader has to have. . . .”

Another way to describe leadership is to write a formal definition. The key to a well-written leadership definition is to represent the essence of your thoughts as concisely as possible. There are hundreds of leadership definitions on the Internet that you may access to see some examples. My own definition follows: Leadership is about creating a vision that others want to be part of, creating a positive environment where great things can happen, and developing people to reach their full potential.

Try crafting your own definition—it’s fun, and you’ll learn a lot about yourself in the process. Once you create your own definition of leadership, memorize it and use it often. Share it with your direct reports and their teams. If you have a large group, share it with all of your employees in an all-hands meeting. Become an evangelist for leadership, sharing your definition with others and inviting your colleagues to develop their own definitions. You need to do this exercise for yourself; no one else can tell you what leadership means. Don’t be that leader who can’t describe leadership; craft your definition to fit your own style and beliefs, and make it a regular part of your development and leadership conversations.

Bootstrap Takeaways

Craft Your Own Definition of Leadership

1. Research leadership traits, or competencies, and identify the ones that mean the most to you.

2. Be known as a leader who has a point of view on leadership; be able to share your definition (what leadership means to you) at any time.

3. Study the great definitions of leadership; be a student of how others view the subject.