Tell me what makes a leader?

I have spent a lot of years around leaders. Some had impressive titles, some had none at all, and I have learned that the title tells you very little. Leadership tends to reveal itself when something goes wrong, when the plan stops working, when the pressure builds, or when someone simply has to step forward.

There is a phrase generally attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte: “Go to the sound of the guns.” I first understood the idea in a military context, but I have carried the principle with me throughout my professional life. Leaders go to the sound of the guns. Not recklessly, and not because they need to be the hero, but because when things get difficult and everyone else has a perfectly reasonable reason to be somewhere else, a leader moves toward the problem. They believe the front is where they belong because that is often where they can add the most value.

That ability doesn't suddenly appear during a crisis. Good leaders develop it over time. They challenge themselves often enough that being uncomfortable becomes familiar. They learn new skills when it would be easier to rely on what they already know. They question old habits, break with the norm when the norm is no longer good enough, and put themselves in situations where success isn't guaranteed. Eventually, moving toward difficult things becomes less of a decision and more of a habit.

And when the crisis does come, people are watching. Leaders understand that their reaction will influence the reaction of everyone around them. They project calm, even when they don't have every answer. That doesn't mean they aren't concerned or even afraid. It means they understand that panic travels quickly through an organization, but so does confidence. Sometimes leadership is simply being the person who can absorb the uncertainty long enough for everyone else to get back to work.

Leadership Can Be Lonely

There is another side of leadership that we don't talk about nearly enough. Leadership can be lonely, not because leaders are necessarily alone, but because they understand that at some point it starts and stops with them.

You can surround yourself with talented people. You can ask for advice, encourage disagreement, listen carefully, and build a team of people who know things you don't. In fact, I think the best leaders do exactly that. But eventually somebody has to make the call, and when that somebody is you, you also have to own what happens next. You don't get to distribute the responsibility simply because the decision was difficult or the information was incomplete.

That responsibility changes the way you think about leadership. It should also create some humility. Being accountable for the final decision doesn't mean you need to have every answer. Quite the opposite. The longer I have led people, the more convinced I have become that one of a leader's greatest responsibilities is to develop people around them who are capable of leading too.

Leaders Build Leaders

A leader who needs to remain the smartest person in the room will eventually become the limitation of the room.

Real leadership isn't about creating followers who wait for your direction. It is about developing people who can think, decide, challenge, act, and eventually lead without you. That means giving people opportunities before they are completely comfortable, allowing them to make decisions you might have made differently, and sometimes resisting the temptation to step in simply because you know you could solve the problem faster yourself.

That's not always easy. Developing another leader requires giving away some control. It means allowing someone else to get the credit, find their own approach, make a mistake, recover from it, and grow. There is a difference between protecting someone from failure and preventing them from ever experiencing enough responsibility to develop.

I think this is where leadership begins to multiply. If everything still has to come through you, you may be very good at your job, but you haven't built much beyond yourself. When people you've developed begin developing other people, something much more important has happened. Your leadership is working when it continues in places where you aren't standing.

Leadership Is a Habit

I don't believe people suddenly become leaders when someone gives them a title. Leadership is developed long before the title arrives. It is built by being the first one on site when something has gone wrong and sometimes the last one to leave. It is built by learning something new when staying with what you already know would be easier, taking responsibility when blaming someone else would be convenient, making the uncomfortable call, and showing up again tomorrow.

Do those things often enough and they become habits, and habits eventually become character. That doesn't mean a leader should work more hours than everyone else, personally solve every problem, or become the permanent backstop for an organization. In fact, if everything depends on you forever, you probably haven't finished the job. The point is that you cannot consistently ask people to go somewhere you are unwilling to go yourself.

People notice this more than we sometimes realize. They notice who shows up when things get difficult, who remains calm, who accepts responsibility, who gives others an opportunity to grow, and who disappears when things become uncomfortable. They also notice the leader who takes the time to teach them, challenges them, trusts them with something important, and tells them they are ready before they completely believe it themselves.

Eventually, regardless of what the organizational chart says, people figure out who the leaders are.

So Tell Me What Makes a Leader?

I don't think there is one personality type, management philosophy, degree, title, or set of credentials that makes someone a leader. I think leadership is demonstrated over time through choices that eventually become habits.

Move toward the problem. Stay calm when things aren't. Challenge yourself before you challenge everyone else. Keep learning. Take responsibility. Break with the norm when the norm needs breaking. Develop people who may someday become better leaders than you are, and be proud when they do.

And when you hear the sound of the guns, go toward it.

But don't spend your career going alone. Teach others how to go with you—and eventually, how to lead the way themselves.