Leadership is About Growing Others - Its Not About You!

"Before you become a leader success is all about growing yourself. Once you become a leader success is all about growing others." Jack Welch (1935- ) Former Chairman & CEO, General Electric"

In my opinion this sums up leadership 100% correctly, and also explains why some people can be very good at what they do, and why they will never become a true leader. Leadership is all about self-sacrifice, not worrying about who gets the credit for what idea, and is not about how good the leader looks to the person they report to.

By focusing on the people served, and not being self-serving, someone can quickly grow in leadership, though his/her formal title may not change.

If you want to continue to serve yourself, don't fool yourself into thinking you can lead others to action, though you might be able to lead them in competition.

An open question for all leaders, and want to be leaders: How are you helping those around you learn, grow and do more?

Follow-up question: What are you doing that is holding back those who report to you from growing and learning more?

As Zig Ziglar says, If you help enough people get what they want, eventually you'll get what you want.

Phil Gerbyshak leads a team of people as manager of an IT Help Desk in Milwaukee, WI, and finds that sharing his knowledge is a crucial component for success as a leader and as a person. Phil's personal philosophy is paraphrased from Tim Sanders' fantastic book Love is the Killer App: "Share your knowledge, your network, and your love. The rest will follow." Feel free to contact Phil at http://makeitgreat.org or call 414.640.7445 anytime.

Leadership is best defined by the quality of your thoughts, decisions and actions. It is also underpinned by the quality of the tools you use in your role. Be seen to bring true leadership to your organization and act with the authority that it brings to you.