There are as many leadership theories and practices as there are people. More books, theses and dissertations have been written on leadership than can be counted. Leadership has been written about in popular media and in academia to the point where it has become a considerable task to determine what leadership is and how it applies to you and your organization.
Having been a leader for some time now and having researched, read and written on many of those leadership theories, for me leadership comes down to a simple formula – it is You, Me and Them – People. Leadership is about people – how they interact, what they bring to their positions and organizations and how they fit into those organizations. To be a successful leader you need to understand people, how they work, why they work, what motivates them and what they bring with them.
The hard part of being a successful leader is that understanding of people – it takes time, experience and an interest in getting to know the people you work with. You also must understand your organizational culture, its hierarchy (if it has one) and how everyone fits into it. A rule of thumb that has served me well is to know that everyone in an organization is a leader of some sort and together they all make up your organizational culture. Understanding your organizational culture and more importantly the sub-cultures and micro-cultures that make it up is key for successful leadership.
As a leader always remember your role in the organization and that the choices and decisions you make not only affect the organization, but most importantly the people in the organization. Never take that lightly.
If you understand that you are leading people, and that they are what creates and evolves your organization’s culture then you are on solid ground to develop into a successful leader.