The True Test Of Leadership

Here is the true test of leadership: If you had no job title or means to reward others, would people still follow you?

This question challenges us to ask ourselves, “Do I truly inspire others?” You see, titles do no inspire others to greatness, people do. President John Quincy Adams said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

Being able to influence people and lead them to a worthy cause is the essence of great leadership. And in order to be a great leader and lead others to a worthy cause, you have to genuinely care about people. If you do not love people, you will never be able to lead them well. The ability to inspire others is what makes a leader effective in all they do. When Steel Magnate Charles M. Schwab was asked why his boss, Andrew Carnegie, paid him a salary of one million dollars a year, Schwab said he was paid this salary largely because of his ability to deal with people. The ability to inspire others is the greatest asset a leader could ever acquire. Leaders truly care about the well-being and the success of those around them. My mentor Dr. John C. Maxwell said, “To measure a leader, put a tape around his heart, not his head.”

Leadership is not about gaining followers, it is about developing other leaders. The true measure of a leader is not the size of their following, but the size of their heart. So goes the size of their heart, so will go the size of their influence. People follow leaders and are inspired by leaders who lead with their heart. Leaders have a heart that is enlarged with a passion for seeing others succeed. Positional leaders put more emphasis on their success, which is about what they do. Inspirational leaders put more energy in their significance, which is about who they impact. Reaching a level of success means that you have done great things, however reaching a level of significance means you have helped others to do great things as well. Simply put: success is about you, significance is about others. General Electric CEO Jack Welch said, “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.”

If you want to be effective, don’t focus on making yourself look great, focus on making others look great. Devote yourself to raising your leadership ability, and you’ll raise your value. Make sure you have a coach to help you coach others. Make sure you have someone to inspire you so you can inspire others. Develop yourself by any means necessary so you can develop others.