As a huge fan of the rule of three writing principle, I’m going to summarise what leadership means to me in this way in an attempt to keep it brief and effective.

Firstly, leadership to me is about people. Leaders are always challenged with and by the people that the lead. In any context, groups of people present challenges for leaders as every person is unique in their own right, in their beliefs and values, their personalities, their strengths and weaknesses, as well as many other variables. A major role of the leader is to be able to bring people together for a common cause regardless of these differences. A great leader should be able to support all individuals to contribute productively and effectively to a team.

Secondly, leadership means decision-making. Most leaders are passionate about instilling change for a better outcome. Sometimes, this means being courageous enough to make unpopular and potentially risky decisions. Furthermore, great leaders have to take ownership of these decisions whether the outcome is good, bad or otherwise.

Thirdly, leadership to me is about critical reflection. In order to be successful as a leader, you have to be able to reflect on your leadership style, and be critical of how you manage people and decisions in order to improve. Being a great leader is about evaluation of what you do well, what you don’t do so well and being able to adjust and change so that your leadership can constantly evolve and improve.