Misconceptions About Leadership

For those who have never held an executive, senior leadership or  management position, it can be easy to believe that leadership is simply  about giving orders and writing reports. However, effective leaders go  further, showing compassion and empathy while instilling motivation  within their employees.

When a leader demonstrates how the company’s core values align with  their own by living them daily, employees are more likely to want to  work with that person to help the company succeed. Below, 15 members of Forbes Coaches Council  explore some common misconceptions about leadership and what new  leaders might actually learn in real time, once they are on the job.

1. Leaders Have All The Answers

Leadership is not about having all the answers; it is about knowing  how to get to the best answer. For example, a problem arises, and the  leader is turned to for a solution. A true leader will rally the team  together to get insights from anyone else who has experienced a similar  scenario, discuss critical factors and consider options, with actions  and responsibilities clearly defined. - Sherre DeMao, BizGrowth Inc

2. Leadership Communication Isn’t Really ‘Doing’ Anything

Leadership is essentially about communication. The larger your  organization gets and/or the more senior you get within it, the more  your role becomes purely about communication—reinforcing vision, mission  and values and giving context to the team. Many new leaders struggle  with this, thinking that they are not “doing” anything. Communication is  a vital aspect of leadership. - Mark MacLeod, Mark MacLeod, CEO Coach & Advisor

3. Leadership Is An Outward Command-And-Control Skill

People misunderstand leadership as an outward command-and-control  skill. Self-awareness, emotional intelligence and empathy are the  leadership strategies that allow us to succeed. These leadership  strategies start with a strong foundation of self and allow people to  build trust and connection with the leader, leading to higher job  satisfaction, lower burnout and an increased bottom line. - Susan Hobson, Elite High Performance

4. Leaders Follow Paths Created By Others

Something people misunderstand about leadership is that being a  leader requires going first, paving a path that was not there to begin  with. Even if something similar has been done in the past, most leaders  are forging a new way, and it requires trial and error and the courage  of someone who trusts themselves deeply and is willing to do things  differently in order to champion a new vision. - Tiffany Cheung, Tiffany Cheung LLC

5. Leadership Is Nothing More Than A ‘Title’

Leadership doesn’t rest in a “title.” Leadership by influence exists  on every level, throughout organizations. New leaders find this out in  real time when others in the organization are able to convince employees  to have confidence in the new manager/leader or new project/initiative.  These individuals need to identify each other early on and become  allies. - Tinna Jackson, Jackson Consulting Group, LLC

6. Leaders Don’t Depend On Their Followers

Formal leadership is overrated. It is not a leader who makes a  difference but their followers. The more you nurture relationships and  validate the people around you, the more you will be able to generate  impact. Appointed leadership is borrowed power. Having integrity and the  wisdom to be people-centric in your leadership is key. Trying to get  anything done without followers is frustrating. - Sabine Gromer, MagnoliaTree

7. Leaders Have To Be All-Knowing

Many leaders misunderstand that they have to be all-knowing. This can  result in various destructive patterns. It can keep them from fostering  and integrating the talent and wisdom of employees, make them closed to  receiving feedback, and lead to a lack of fulfillment in their job for  everyone. Transformation happens when leaders are comfortable with not  knowing and are leveraging the talent and wisdom of others. - Angela Dash, The Pace Institute, LLC

8. Leaders Don’t Need To Practice Being Resilient

People become leaders because of their expertise, skill or strategy,  but they may underestimate the importance of resilience practices for  both themselves and those they lead. The ability to lead in the face of  continuous disruption requires consistent attention to the well-being of  both the leader and the team. Prioritizing resilience can help leaders  to manage uncertainty and avoid burnout. - Rachel Bellack, The Improv Advantage

9. Leadership Only Matters In The Big Moments

Consistency is an underestimated leadership quality. Leadership is  not one act but a consistent exhibition of leadership traits over time.  Those taking up leadership roles should know that all small moments of  showing up as a leader will have a compounding interest in building  leadership presence. Every small moment of showing leadership will add  up. Stay consistent with your leadership values. - Devika Das, CORE Executive Presence

10. Leadership Is All About You

The one thing people often misunderstand about leadership is that  it’s all about the people you are leading. “Me” becomes “we.” The best  leaders are the ones who empower their teams to achieve the goals of the  department/company. Once the vision is set, time should be focused on  getting to know each member of the team’s motivations, strengths,  weaknesses and support needed. - Kimberly Svoboda, Aspiration Catalyst®

11. Leaders Must Start With A Vision

There is an expectation that leaders must start with a vision to  rally people. I take a different tact—leaders who start by noticing  (people, markets, trends, product or service/market fit) and accepting  reality, and then develop a vision and a process to move toward it are  far more likely to have satisfied and successful followers. This  approach allows for ongoing adaptation and sustainability. - Joanne Heyman, Heyman Partners

12. Leadership Doesn’t Require Self-Reflection

Leadership is as much about deep internal work as it is about  understanding others. Those new to leadership are well-served by setting  aside as much time to reflect on their own responses, motivations and  needs as they do on those of the people they lead. - Sundae Schneider-Bean, Sundae Schneider-Bean GmbH

13. Leadership Is The Same As Management

The biggest misunderstanding about leadership is thinking it is the  same as management. Leadership is a choice and a lifelong journey; it is  not a title or a position. Leaders build other leaders—a new leader  needs to learn to be humble and vulnerable as well as inclusive. By  making people feel they belong and are accepted as they are, leaders  increase their team-building effectiveness and their teams’  productivity. - Sahar Andrade, MB.BCh, Sahar Consulting, LLC

14. Leaders Don’t Have To Drive Digital Transformation

Living in a digital world today—where every company is a technology company—leaders need to lead by digital example.  It’s not enough to just want your organization to become digital; you  need to be digital too. Or in other words, digital transformation means  digital leadership. You need to get familiarized with digital tools,  platforms and channels and use them to communicate with your team. - Lital Marom, UNFOLD Media Group

15. Leadership Puts Profits Over People

Leaders are also human beings, and leadership is all about leading  people, not machines. Most of us think being ruthless makes one a great  leader, while the fact is, all profits come from people and not from  products and processes. - Jimmy Jain, Square Sequel Consulting

Thsi article was originally posted @Forbes