The best test as a leader is: Do those served grow as persons; do they become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become leaders? – Robert Greenleaf

“Leadership can’t be taught,” she contended. “I have a Masters in Leadership and I know it can’t be taught.” Interesting perspective, I thought. I wasn’t sure if she was telling me that she had a Masters in Leadership and, therefore, considered herself an expert on how you can’t learn leadership—or—that she hasn’t learned anything about leadership even though she went through the effort to acquire a Masters.

Either way, I figured I couldn’t improve on the position she had put herself in.

Leadership, in fact, can be taught. It can be modeled. It can be transferred. In fact, leadership is a natural state. People are born as leaders. We all are. Infants, who still can’t even focus their eyes, learn very quickly to identify certain goals that they want satisfied (I’m hungry, wet, tired) and set about to get others to satisfy those needs. It’s a selfish kind of leadership but it is leadership. In fact, parenting is essentially a struggle for emancipation from the tyranny of our children.

I have young kids. I’m not a parenting expert. However, as a leadership expert, my goal as a parent isn’t to “win” the leadership battle in my home. An “I’m the boss here,” is the wrong framing of the conversation. I am the boss – and as such, it is my job to raise, guide and direct the leadership capacities of my children. That is, their abilities to take responsibility for themselves and the needs of others. To creatively dream and then turn those dreams into reality. To own their own behavior and choices and how to relate to the behavior and choices of others.

The ridiculous debate, “Are people born leaders or do they learn leadership?” should be put to rest. Everyone is born to leadership. Everyone needs to learn to exercise it. Some of us learned to abuse it. Some of us learned to neglect it. Some of us learned to utilize it.

So, when it comes to teaching leadership what we really mean is one of two things:

1. How can I best guide and nurture the obvious leadership capacities in the person I’m working with?
2. How can I re-enliven a squelched or damaged leadership capacity in someone who doesn’t demonstrate leadership?

Now, not everyone can or ever will lead in the same capacities or with the same abilities. I’m not trying to go all motivational speaker on you here. However, everyone has the potential to offer leadership into their spheres of influence. Everyone can develop a stronger sense of their responsibility for themselves and to others. Everyone can learn to dream and engage the support of others to build those dreams. Everyone can learn to bring value to others.

Let’s briefly explore this using Robert Greenleaf’s* statement as a guide:

• Do those we serve grow as persons? A “person” is made up out of a physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual self.
  • Do you, as a leader, find value in helping others to grow as “whole persons?”
  • Is there an organizational benefit to having people who are growing? (As opposed to not changing or somehow lessening?
  • How can our workplaces contribute to (or at least not detract from) the personal growth of others in each of those areas?
  • As leaders, how do we contribute to or encourage the growth of others in each of those areas?

• Do they become healthier? com defines health as, “soundness of body or mind, freedom from disease or ailment.” Let’s look at health broadly in this context. Not just physical health but also in the context of the “whole person.”:
  • How might your organization benefit from having healthier people?
  • What might be the costs, to your organization, of less healthy people (sick, stressed, difficult relationships…)
  • Does it make sense to explore ways to contribute to the health of those who work with you?
  • Are there any ways where your workplace or your leadership may be compromising the health of others?

• Do they become wiser? Knowledge and experience are how we gather information. Wisdom is the ability to use that information to choose sound and valuable decisions.
  • How much of your training programs are focused on gathering information as opposed to “how to use” information?
  • Do you find that those around you are noticeably increasing in their ability to think critically, make good decisions, evaluate and learn from results?
  • What can you do you to improve on this?

• Do they become freer? Many of the people we lead are “bound” by fear or limiting beliefs.
  • How does our leadership help remove people’s fears (often of rejection or failure)?
  • How can we remove people’s limiting beliefs such as: Scarcity vs Abundance? Resentment vs Gratitude? Victim-stance vs Personal Responsibility? Winning vs Collaborating? Perfection vs Progress?

• Do they become more autonomous? Autonomy refers to people’s abilities to independently manage responsibilities, make decisions and act on those decisions.
  • Do our people increasingly and predictably need less management the longer they are with us?
  • Do we provide clarity on scopes of authority, expectations, roles and responsibilities so people can more independently navigate?
  • Do we mentor them on how to handle exceptions, solve problems and ways to relate to unique opportunities?
  • How do we encourage innovation and ingenuity?

• More likely to become leaders? I like to define leadership as a relationship characterized by influence and specific intent.
  • How do we support the people who work with us to increase in their influence – their ability to persuade others, to make decisions, to have an impact on creating the world around them?
  • How do we support the people who work with us to become clearer in identifying & pursuing their own goals?
  • How do we support others to discover ways to bring new value and service to those around them?

Leadership can be taught. It is always taught. In each of our organizations, we teach what “leadership” means there. Are we actively nurturing people to lead from their roles?

Would your organization be stronger for it?

If you would like assistance in creating a workplace culture that automatically grows leaders around you, please contact me for an obligation-free call.

*Robert Greenleaf is best known for coining the phrase “servant leadership” and articulating how it works in practice. He was an executive with AT&T, an author and later a consultant.