A Good Leader Is More About “We”, “Us”, And “Our”

A good leader realises that by herself, she can’t achieve greatness. Making a real difference is a collective effort. People have to believe your narrative and devote themselves to the cause as if it was their own.

How does a leader inspire devotion in other’s hearts? You start with an idea something that you can believe in. Then you romanticise with the idea, fall in love and slowly the idea transforms into a mission. Once you’ve made something a mission in life you are ready to ask the universe for it. When that happens you’ll speak about your mission with sincerity and weight. It’s real for you, so real that you can now create your own reality.

When you’ve convinced someone that your reality is real it’s key to make people inclusive of the reality you’ve created. It has to become their reality. Your reality becomes collective and words like “I”, “Me” and “Mine” descend into obsolescence. Once you have people around you working with you achieving the collective vision it’s important to understand that the people around you are working beside you because they believe in the cause, and they are doing it because they want to. So your ‘idea’ is no longer ‘yours’ it belongs to everyone on your team. It becomes a shared vision. As a leader, you start the fire by giving the people something to believe in.

When you describe or refer to the collective vision “I” becomes “We”, “My” becomes “Our”. It is the most fundamental requirement as a leader, the ability to let go of what you think you control.

Growth and progress are the antidotes to fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Team members can lose focus and question the vision. These are opportunities for you to grow as a leader. If your team member is questioning the feasibility of your vision it’s a possible indicator that there is a lack of progress or lack of communication. Either progress isn’t being made or it is being made but isn’t communicated clearly to your team. Either way, this is a chance for you to become more to your team, a chance for you to listen to feedback, show humility and ask for forgiveness.

Remember you are able to be in the role you are in only because your team trusts you, and feel comfortable having you as their leader. Your job as a leader is to serve your team and ensure they have everything they need to succeed. When things go wrong, accept the fact that it’s always going to be your fault. They look to you for answers. When things are right it’s always your team’s effort that made it right. Your team needs to feel safe and appreciated for them to continue on the path you’ve set.

Note: We at Inc42 take our ethics very seriously. More information about it can be found here.