How to Identify Authentic Leaders

There are the leaders and the ones who lead.

The main difference between them is that a plain leader (or self-named leader) will tell you what to do. For instance, you may be delegated to create the version 2.1 of a software, or to paint a wall yellow.

On the other hand, there are the individuals who lead. In this case, they will tell you why we need to create a new version of the software, and why the old wall requires some labor this morning.

The following figure demonstrates the two concepts (credits to Simon Sinek):

In a sentence: a real inspiring leader will tell you why you should dedicate your time to an activity, which will lead to an action (what). Not the opposite!

These two approaches, the what or the why, although very simple at first sight can be somewhat disregarded in companies. While the first can be seen as just an order/command, the second can be seen as an understanding of the delegation. People need to understand why their are putting their effort into something; people need to believe in what they are doing really matters.

If we do not believe in what we do, we are like a self-commanded machine, with our body into action, and our mind somewhere else. We could be doing what we are assigned to, but we are not putting into place our full commitment. We need our mind and body in the same direction.

For the good and for the bad, history is full of great leaders that time won’t let us forget, as for instance, Martin Luther King, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, etc. On the other side, we have the already forgotten (and in the process to be forgotten) leaders that can achieve something today, in short-term, but won’t be remembered in the future.

It might take more time and effort to inspire people why we need something done, but once you do it they’ll follow for life and not only until the end of the (feeling-like-mandatory) working day.

Hugo Lopes

P.S.: This post was originally released in my LinkedIn.