I had a thought today about leadership that I believe helps me imagine my work in my new leadership role: Leadership is serving others, given that you see a viable path to the shared vision. At the workplace, this service is provided to your boss, to your peers and to your direct reports.
To your boss, the service is simple: Help your boss build a path toward the shared vision by injecting insights from your particular area of expertise. When your boss achieves his goal, then you have achieved yours.
To your peers: Help them perform their functions more efficiently or more effortlessly by using your insights to streamline their processes or suggesting new ways of doing things that will enable them to do more with less.
To your staff: Help them see, understand and appreciate the vision and then help them fulfill their roles in advancing toward the vision, by giving them the resources and the environment they need to succeed.
So, in summary, by helping others one helps him- or herself. Why is this leadership? Because it's all about moving everyone toward a common goal, recognizing that no one person can get there alone.
