Leading Who, Not What

The essence of leadership is focusing on people, not projects. A project is simply a task to be completed, which may or may not require people. A project can require decisions, vision, attitude, insight and management, all of which are aspects of leadership, but really don’t require a leader so much as they require competency from a worker or team. 

Leadership is about making human connections, building self-thinking professionals, and deriving genuine pleasure and a sense of accomplishment seeing others grow. As a leader of people you have the ability to significantly influence not only a team’s success on the job, but their careers and the sense of enrichment they get from their vocation.

Be good to people, compassionate, and caring. This must be genuine and heartfelt—people can spot a fake a mile away. A real leader demonstrates the character attributes in their own life that they want to build in their team. Being a people person as a leader isn’t just a matter of getting the best from your people—at a deep level you have to know and understand that it is just the right thing to do.

When a project comes along, consider not only what will make the project successful, but who can contribute, how they can give their best, and how you can grow them, and your relationship with them, through the process. A leader is always looking forward to how he or she can hand over the reigns to others. A leader doesn’t lead a what. A leader is fundamentally a leader of people. Who are you leading today?