This week, during a monthly Success call with one of my team, I asked the question “What defines a leader”. He answered that leadership is a natural ability that you are either born with or not.
I thought this was very interesting.
It is true that some people appear to be natural leaders, but does that mean that others cannot develop leadership behaviours that others are inspired to follow?
In my view, Leadership is not an ability or a skill that one applies, it’s a mindset and a subsequent way of behaving that people relate to and either adopt or aspire to.
The best leaders I know aren’t actually doing anything, they are simply being, and yet, their actions define how people around them then behave and respond.
So, think about your own behaviour… Do you inspire people to learn more, to do more and to become more? Do you inspire people to think differently or to behave differently? If you do, then you have followers and if you have followers, then you are by definition a leader.
Leadership is in the eye of the beholder…