By Arrey Obenson
There is the story of a newly appointed CEO who spent her first week sitting in a beautiful corner office, admiring the view. By Friday, she had approved several proposals without reading them and daydreaming her way through several high-level staff meetings. She was leading. She had the chair and title, but the chair, as they say in Africa, does not make the king.
Leadership is not about the fancy title on your door, the position, the rank, or the size of the office. It is not hidden in the leadership bestseller or pointed out in an MBA curriculum. It is simply harder than that.
Imagine the best leader you have ever known. Chances are they did not spend much time talking about being a leader. Instead, they probably did something far more powerful; they made you believe in yourself. They saw potential in you that you had not even noticed. They pushed when you needed pushing, stepped back when appropriate, and knew the difference between the two.
That is what real leadership looks like. It is like the orchestra conductor who does not make a single sound during the performance – their job is to bring out the music in others. It is the tribal chief who understands that their strength is not in their own actions, but in their ability to unite and inspire their people.
If you want to be a better leader? Start by listening. Ask questions instead of giving orders. Celebrate others, give others the spotlight. Build people up instead of talking down. Your team's achievements are your achievements, and their growth is your legacy.
Because at the end of the day, leadership is not about the chair you sit in – it is about the people you serve.
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