Before, delving into the crux of the question, I would like to set out a few key headings:

• What is leadership
• Who is a leader
• Why is it important
• How is it measured

What is Leadership?

Leadership is a hard thing to define. To illustrate the difficulty, in the ranking of Google’s most searched leadership terms or phrases, the highest ranked search belongs to: “What is leadership?” More than 14,800 people per month searched for “What is leadership.” Leadership is such a vague term, that most people don’t even understand how to ask the question, much less define it.

What is the Definition of Leadership?

What does leadership mean? The Oxford dictionary defines leadership as: “the action of leading a group of people or an organisation.” I don’t find that definition to be much help in enabling us to understand “what is leadership?”

Who is a Leader?

Many people define leadership by the positional title, rank or authority given to them in the hierarchy of an organisation. I believe that anyone can be a leader. For some, it is natural, and other it must be nurtured. If you interact with other humans in any capacity, and you have to influence them to work together to accomplish a goal, you are a Leader. I call this Leaderless Leadership. You don’t have to be the senior person in charge of the team. You don’t have to have a title or rank in your organisation. Everyone is a leader. You must lead yourself. And you must lead others in order to be successful at anything.

Why is Leadership Important?

The biggest lesson that I have learned in the military is that leadership is the most important thing. It is the critical factor that determines whether a team succeeds or fails. By leadership, we don’t just mean the senior person in charge, but the mid-level manager, to the frontline leader, right down to the single individual contributor, who isn’t in charge of anybody else but themselves and their small piece of the mission. That leadership at every level of the team is the most important factor in whether a team succeeds or fails. We have seen it on that battlefield, and we’ve seen it in the business world: when things are going catastrophically wrong, the right leadership decision can turn the tide and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Conversely, when everything seems to be going right and victory all but assured, the wrong leadership decision can lead to disaster and epic failure.

How is leadership Measured?

The only meaningful measure of success for leadership is whether the team succeeds or fails. It is not enough to work hard and try your best. There are leadership strategies and tactics that you can employ to build effective relationships, create buy-in from your team, your peers, and your senior leaders, and effectively accomplish your mission. However, Leadership is taking ownership of everything that impacts your mission. When you cast blame or make excuses, the problems don’t get solved. But when you take ownership of the problems, you can implement solutions to get those problems fixed. It isn’t magic.

Leadership is the Solution

Leadership is the solution to all your problems. On the professional side: the micromanaging manager, a team that won’t take ownership, a peer or department that won’t provide the necessary support, a missed opportunity for promotion. On the personal side: work life balance that is far out of sync, disagreement with a spouse, or kids that shun guidance and refuse to listen. All of these problems are, fundamentally, leadership problems. And the good news is that leadership is the solution to every problem. Every single problem.

By Darren Hardy

Darren Hardy is Head of Delivery at Skewb. To speak with him about this topic in more detail, you can connect with him on LinkedIn.