What Does It Mean To Be a Leader? 5 Impactful Lessons

Think for a second about the leaders in your life. 

Are they political figures? Local organizers? Are they your parents or your siblings? Are they friends you admire?

The truth is that true leaders come in all shapes and sizes. Our society tends to separate people into "leaders" or "followers," but it’s not that simple. We can all answer the call to lead, and we all bring individual characteristics that can make us strong leaders. 

You might be wondering what constitutes the definition of a leader. Today we’re going to look at a few qualities of successful leaders, important lessons to remember when you’re in a leadership position, and leaders we admire.

5 Leadership Lessons

While there’s no cookie-cutter answer to the question of how to lead, there are some important lessons that every leader should remember. Whether you’re leading a group project, a community organization, or even a country, being open to learning is a great place to start.

Lesson #1: Prioritize People First

When you’re feeling passionate about a project and its goals, it can be hard to focus on anything else. Strong leaders put their people first. A project will always have its complications, stresses, and difficulties. For a team to work on these issues successfully, they need to be in an environment where they feel supported and inspired. 

That starts with the leader of a group.  

Team leaders set the tone for the entire organization. A healthy and supportive environment is far more conducive to a positive attitude and morale.

Pay attention to your team, set up regular one-on-one meetings with different people, and ask them how they’re feeling about their work. If they’re feeling overwhelmed or challenged, take real steps to help alleviate their stress.

Despite going to your drawing board, you may not be able to solve every problem, but by demonstrating compassion and you’re willing to try, you can build sustainable trust and goodwill. Emotional intelligence is often (or more) critical than advanced technical skill.

Lesson #2: Be Transparent

On that note, it’s important that leaders share with their team when things go wrong or when mistakes are made. Transparency and an open dialogue are essential pieces of the leadership puzzle. 

Leaders aren’t required to be perfect robots. They don’t have to get everything right. All they need to do is be upfront and real with their team about their shortcomings. Humility and honesty are key for innovation, achieving better results, and setting the best example of self-improvement.

Imagine working under a leader who keeps bad news from the group. You might feel like you can’t trust them or their management skills. You might feel alienated from the inner workings of the project. You might be prone to gossip, blame, or speculation. 

Now, on the contrary, imagine working under a leader who’s transparent and honest. You might feel like you can be more upfront about your own shortcomings or mistakes. 

Do you see why that might be beneficial to leaders? Cultivating a community of steady core beliefs like patience, integrity, and open communication is a great way to help your team feel like they can bring their whole selves to work.

Lesson #3: Make Feedback a Part of the Process

As a leader, you often will be required to give your team feedback on different situations. If you ask us, that should be a two-way street. You can’t grow as a leader and develop alongside your team if you’re not willing to hear out and accept genuine feedback. Reflecting is part of growing.

Remember that active listening is about verbal and non-verbal communication. Using affirmative language that validates the person’s feelings and outlook is a great way to make them feel heard. Nodding, eye contact, and not interrupting go even further. 

To head in the right direction, ensure that your feedback system is built to work in two directions. For that matter, you don’t need to have a formal review to receive feedback. Regularly asking for your team’s opinion on things can help make feedback a less scary prospect. 

Try to look at it as an opportunity instead of a criticism. By finding out what’s working and what’s not, you can tweak and optimize in real time. Interpersonal communication shouldn't just be for your direct reports; it should be for everyone. 

Lesson #4: Focus on Inspiration, Not Change

If you notice that a team member is struggling or the quality of their work is waning, more often than not, you don’t have a personnel problem. You have an inspiration problem.  

Work with them to construct a plan for how they can become more engaged with their activities. Sometimes more responsibility can help encourage people to rise to the occasion. 

People want to feel seen and appreciated in group settings. By paying close attention to your team members, developing personal relationships with them, and motivating and supporting their individual goals, you can make everyone feel valued and inspired. 

Giving accolades and rewards for continuous improvement and high standards are key ways to increase self-confidence and feelings of empowerment.

A huge piece of that is delegation. Life coach Rakish Rana says, trusting the team to take over can go a long way:

“One thing that surprised me about leadership was how little one needs to be involved in day-to-day activities. Leadership is about having the right people and teams in place so that you can point them in a direction and let them manage what needs to be done going forward.”

Lesson #5: Set Goals and Build an Inspiring Vision of the Future

On the note of inspiration, let’s talk about a leader’s responsibility to set the tone and vision for a project or organization. Simply put, if you’re excited about the future, your team will often follow. 

Goal setting is important so that everyone knows the direction they’re headed in, and you can measure success. Sometimes you don’t know how far you’ve come until you look back at those first big milestones. Set a range of goals, some of which are short-term and easily achievable, and some of which are lofty and far-reaching for the long run. 

Most importantly, celebrate when your team achieves their goals. Thank people for all their hard effort and loudly champion their successes. It may seem straightforward and simple, but a clear vision for the future, with little wins along the way, is the recipe for strong leadership and a happy team. 

Leaders Who Inspire Us

It can be a little hard to talk about leadership in the abstract, but you know a good leader when you see one. At OLASTEO, we’ve had the pleasure of hosting many community figures and organizers who have taught us valuable lessons about what it means to lead. 

Let’s take a closer look at the lessons they’ve learned and passed on.

Dydine Umunyana

By all accounts, Dydine Umunyana has faced unbelievable hardship in her life. A survivor of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, you might expect her work to be focused on anger and justice. In some sense, it is, but Umunyana’s superpower is to help victims of violence process their pain and grief through acts of love, empathy, and forgiveness. 

Her organization, Umuco Love, is focused on breaking down the barriers between cultures. Dydine leads with genuine empathy and proves that listening to other people’s stories is a powerful act. By making her voice heard, she inspires others to be more accepting, curious, and understanding.

Danny Trejo

You may recognize Danny Trejo from his successful career in the movie and TV industry, but the actor also has an impressive non-profit and community-serving background. 

In 2020, when so many families were struggling to make ends meet, Trejo donated food to 800 houses in need. It’s just one of the many examples of the actor going above and beyond to address the urgent needs of his community in East Los Angeles. 

We admire Danny Trejo because of his boots-on-the-ground energy. He’s ready to pitch in and help hand out food. By working alongside his teams, he shows us just how important his mission to feed the community is to him. That’s passion.

JoAnne Bland

JoAnne Bland first heard the call to lead in the early 60s. She was heavily involved in social movements, resisting racist segregation and discrimination laws. Bland’s extended fight for racial justice shows us how leaders can endure, all while working towards a goal for as long as it takes.

Her passion now is all about education. She leads a touring agency focused on the Civil Rights Movement, headquartered in Selma, Alabama. Bland uses that history to keep her fight going, advocating for voting rights. Her tenacity and emphasis on empowering her local community are especially inspiring to us.

Rising to the Occasion

We can’t always know when the call to lead will arrive. 

Sometimes we are moved to action by violence, inequality, or simply by being in the right place at the right time. Whatever the case, when people look to us as leaders, we must accept and acknowledge the responsibility of that power. 

People are not simply "followers." They are living human beings. With the right leader in place, those human beings can bring all of their value and energy towards a goal for a brighter future.

When your moment arrives, remember that transformational leaders listen, learn, and inspire. They delegate and value their team’s time and work. They take feedback and stay honest. 

In short, they lead. 

Sources:

What Does It Mean To Be a Leader? | Michigan State University

15 Leadership Lessons These Leaders Wish They Had Learned Sooner | Forbes

Home | Dydine Umunyana

Actor Danny Trejo Donates Food to 800 Families of Frontline Workers | Newsweek