What One Thing Proves A Great Leader?

It’s an interesting conundrum. In the time when you’re leading a team or group, you hope you’re doing it the right way. You hope that you’re leading well and following your vision. You hope that you are instilling in the minds and hearts of those who follow you I desire to follow you for more than they paycheck you’re providing or because the org chart says so.

But how do you measure a real leader? A great leader?

One simple measuring stick can be summed up in this phrase:

A great leader is a leader for others whereas a weak leader is a leader only for himself. In fact, a leader who leads for him or herself is not really a leader but rather a performer. — Jerry Bowyer, Forbes

The summary is, great leaders leave a legacy.

• Programs that go on without them long after they’ve departed.
• Their people look back and claim they’re better for knowing that leader and show a marked improvement in their career or life after being mentored by them.
• When hard decisions need to be made, it’s about the person being affected, not about the benefits to the organization after restructuring.

Real leaders are far from managers, whose primary tasks are defined by charts, graphs, output, revenues and ROIs.

Leaders are spoken of in those ways as well, but often the conversation centers on the human side. The way they “took the time” or “cared enough” or “helped out.”

What’s the lasting impact of YOUR leadership?

Or are you just performing?