Is leadership for anyone?

The versatility expected from leadership nowadays is very rarely found in one single person. Looking back in History, I found none.

Take the clichés commonly present in LinkedIn posts as an example of what the Western world expects from a leader: visionary, pragmatic, flexible, reliable, listener, decisive, patient, pragmatic, financially savvy, emotionally intelligent, people oriented and AI fluent. You find similar descriptions in specialized magazines or corporate HR trainings. Try asking your AI companion the same question, and you will find similar characteristics expected from those in charge. The list above is full of opposing traits. Visionaries are not pragmatic, reliability demands a certain rigidity, the best financial executives lack some emotional intelligence, good listeners are not the fastest to decide and those with saint patience are not pragmatic.

The expected characteristics of leadership is only fulfilled by a group of people. An adaptive leader will cultivate self-awareness, knowing what traits he or she misses, inviting others to contribute with their own, completing a mosaic of capabilities to lead.

Let me take the example of the most influential ideological leaders in History: Confucius, Plato, Aristotle, Karl Marx, Lenin, Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Their vision influenced History but they, as individuals, did not implement their own ideas. Not them, but their followers actually create their vision. Similarly, the most important religious leaders like Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Siddhartha, Krishna, and Zoroaster were visionary, patient, listeners and people oriented, but their disciplines were the ones who created their legacy. Even today, all the powerful politicians follow the influence of a sort of guru, and delegate many aspects of leadership to others.

The modern times call for constant change. We manage change. In my experience in the corporate world, change management needs around 3 to 4 people complementing each other to form a core set of skills to satisfy the list of desired characteristics of leadership. In this context, the role of a leader is to cultivate team spirit and deflated egos in a purpose-driven environment.