A true team leader knows that he or she is part of the team, and therefore contributes actively, stepping in to execute tasks whenever needed, not merely directing and guiding from a distance. Even so, a genuine leader must always set an example and invite feedback from everyone about his or her own performance.
What Genuine Leadership Requires
The leader of a group must guide its members in ways that reflect certain essential principles. As sociologist Domenico De Masi suggests, genuine leadership means making people want to follow you even in moments of discouragement, trusting your direction with confidence and without demanding endless rational explanations.
It means framing the shared goal in a way that is genuinely compelling to your colleagues, like a luminous dream that is also achievable as a concrete reality. It means drawing people in emotionally, even inspiring enthusiasm, not only for the objective itself but also for the methods and timeline required to reach it.
A genuine leader brings out the best in each person, making them fall in love with the organization. He or she transforms emerging conflicts into opportunities for solidarity, turns resource constraints into accepted challenges, and channels the willingness to sacrifice toward something greater. Indispensable norms are kept in place without ever allowing them to degenerate into senseless bureaucracy.
The Art of Speaking and Listening
Genuine leaders know how to balance speaking with listening, creating in team members the feeling and certainty that what has been built belongs not to one person but to the entire group. They are capable of turning work into creative flow, a dynamic interplay of work, learning, and engagement.
They know how to inspire, organize, disrupt, and reorganize, changing enough to surprise without changing so much that they disorient, walking the fine line between shrewdness and sincerity. And even when they step back or step away, the group does not dissolve under the weight of loss or a sense of powerlessness.
Leading Through Every Obstacle
Leaders must contribute their own ideas, help members identify alternatives, guide discussions, and encourage feedback on performance. No team, however talented, is immune to problems. The mark of a genuine leader is the willingness to continually encourage the group to overcome whatever obstacles arise along the way.