What You Got Wrong About Leadership

Adulthood and other qualities we now call leadership.

Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/silhouette-of-persons-hand-4629626/

Leadership has become a buzzword.

Sadly.

“Everyone can be a leader.”

I used to say that as well. I am ditching it now. Why? Because we’ve started misusing leadership for adulthood, common sense, and ownership.

Yes, we have personal leadership and self-leadership. Good for us. But let’s not mistake leadership for traits we all should have anyway.

Leadership as basic personal responsibility

If you see a job ad, you probably read about these qualities:

• Reliable
• Organized
• Taking initiative

Hmmm. That sounds like leadership. Right?

Or are these praised as “leadership”, even when these are basic expectations of adulthood? What was once considered standard adult behavior is sometimes labeled as leadership to encourage these traits.

Yes, that is how far the whole leadership thing got it.

Everyone can be a leader if …:

• They come to work on time.
• They are diligent with their deadlines.