There are so many version of “leadership” definitions floating around. A lot of them are really problematic.

As I’ve been re-engaging with Heifetz ‘Leadership without Easy Answers’ - I’m realizing how orienting his distinctions have been for me and my work. And the same is true for many of our clients.

Here are the TOP 10 confusions about leadership:

People often think, or assume leadership is:

something you're born with
charisma
influence
power
serving
heroic
a position or title
solving and fixing
creates followership and buy-in
having a vision
getting people where you want them to go
is glamorous

What leadership actually is…

something that can be learned and developed
comes in many forms
means mobilizing others to confront difficult challenges
disappointing people at a rate they can handle
building new capacities
a team effort
a practice, a verb
making progress
possible from many positions of authority
asking difficult questions
supporting learning
is difficult

We are excited to hear your reflections!