“He who sees a need and waits to be asked for help is as unkind as if he had refused it.” – Dante Alighieri
Leaders are bombarded every day with things they’re “supposed” to do. Conversations they’re supposed to have, visions they’re supposed to communicated, plans they’re supposed to develop – the list goes on and on. It can be overwhelming.
Sometimes there is so much noise that it can drown out what really is the core purpose of leaders. It’s not to develop great presentations or give phenomenal motivational speeches or receive awards or anything like that. It’s service.
At its most basic, leadership is about serving the people you lead. You are successful as a leader if the people you lead reach their fullest potential. You are successful as a leader if the organization you lead attains the greatest success it’s capable of. Your job is to help others succeed. That means service.
Think about your current situation. Who among the group that you’re leading needs help? Who is struggling, or not performing to expectations? Who has huge potential, but hasn’t been able to unlock it? What can you do to help?
I’m not suggesting that every single time anybody in your organization asks for help that you have to stop whatever you’re doing and help them. I am suggesting that too many leaders are so busy with “big picture things” or doing stuff they read about on the internet that they miss the fact that real people in their organizations need their help.
And the best leaders don’t necessarily wait to be asked. Yes, our people need to be proactive and work to deal constructively with their own opportunities and challenges. But great leaders don’t just sit back and watch people struggle if there’s something they can do to help.
It might be a conversation, or a specific action. It might be some kind of direct assistance, or it might be clearing a path for someone to succeed. Whatever the situation, it’s your job as a leader to be proactively looking for ways to help people succeed, and then making it happen.
Real leaders work hard for their people. Real leaders figure out how to put their people in the best possible position to succeed. Real leaders help their people take advantage of opportunities. You get the idea. Be a real leader.
