by Lester Coupland

Debunking the 10 Myths of Leadership

So what is leadership?

One way to address this question is to define what it is not.

How many leaders have you experienced who believe (or at least act as if they believe) that leadership is about one or a combination of these 10 traits:

• Power
• Showing they are smarter than others
• Having all the best answers
• Getting their way
• Not showing any vulnerability
• Controlling
• Micro-managing
• Not trusting
• Regularly pushing people to their limits without any duty of care
• Being overly concerned about perceptions and internal politics

It’s not that some combinations of these traits don’t get results. They can. But almost certainly not longer-term. And some combinations might be fatal. Why? Because this is not leadership; it’s being an autocrat, a politician, a bureaucrat, an administrator or a manager. It’s not intrinsically wrong! but it’s not leadership.

Here at LSC, we believe that leadership is about creating the conditions where teams and individuals can play to their strengths, fulfil their potential and thus deliver value to the organization. Great leaders have learned to let go, let others take the lead and manage their own ego.

As Steve Jobs once said, “It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people, so they can tell us what to do.”

Here at LSC, we have coached and developed thousands of leaders in over 40 countries worldwide. We’re always open to a dialogue with you on how you might reassess the leadership concept and develop the next cadre of outstanding leaders in your own organisation.