Leadership in Business (and life)
The foundation of leadership in business (and life) is people.
There is a misconception that leadership is fundamentally about product or production or profits. These are important elements that contribute to leadership but they are not the foundation of leadership.
All products, production and creation begin with people. Nothing, literally nothing happens without people.
True leadership is how profits, products and production serve people regardless of whether those people are employees or customers. In fact there really should be little distinction between ‘internal’ and ‘external’ customers.
All companies have an overseer, but not all companies have a leader. The title is irrelevant. The title of CEO does not necessarily connote leader. Some so-called CEOs undeservedly have the title of CEO but are in reality overseers.
Overseers can have positive or negative effects on people, organizations, products and profits. An authentic leader can only have a positive effect. Leadership is about enhancing not diminishing.
A leader is not toxic and does not treat others with disrespect or disregard. There is an unpleasant saying that the ‘fish stinks from the head down’ which has always been used to refer to toxic overseers. These people cannot be referred to as leaders, supervisors, managers or even bosses, because they are not.
It is unfortunate that we have adopted the habit of calling overseers CEOs or leaders. This misnomer is but a tiny contribution to the ever more pervasive trend of obfuscating the true meaning of words in the service of manipulating perceptions.
A real leader would not be content with misalignment between people, profits and products.
Leadership in business begins with the energy, culture, values, principles and norms established from the top. Whether or not the organization is controlled by a leader or by an overseer will determine the health and ultimate long-term success of the organization.
In an increasingly fractured and disenfranchised world, authentic leaders are becoming increasingly important and necessary. Success both globally and locally depends upon authentic leadership.