leadership as a support role

Personally, I see leadership as a support role — a listener, a facilitator, a translator, a navigator. I know its common to think of the leader as the visionary, but if you’re a good listener, facilitator, translator and navigator then the leader shares ownership over the vision with the entire team.

Your time to lead is in developing a framework for the team to work within. In order to be successful in executing this shared vision, it’s the leader’s responsibility is to help people understand the role they play and how they can successfully measure their performance. Then you need to take a step back and get out of their way.

Phoebe Hayman

"Phoebe Hayman, the founder of Seedling, Talks About Leadership as a Support Role" by Ramon B. Nuez Jr. Huffington Post. August 28, 2017.

let them happen organically

Sometimes great innovations happen because they’re driven by exceptional leaders. Other times innovations happen because great leaders knew when to step aside and let them happen organically. This latter type of change only happens when true leadership exists – the type that recognizes initiative, fuels it, and gives it boundaries without killing the enthusiasm behind it.

Dennis Goin

3 Leadership Tips for Creating Organic Change. Forbes. 11/19/2012