The Purpose of a Leader

If you asked a roomful of people, “what is the purpose of a leader?”, you would probably get a number of answers equal to the number of people in the room. Everyone seems to have their own idea of exactly what leadership is, and for that matter, whether we even need it. From an organizational perspective, the answer to that question seems to be newly defined with every work generation that comes along. Certainly, ideas about what leadership is and what a leader does (or at least should do) in an organizational setting, are different today than they were even 8-10 years ago.

But while the perceptions of and, in truth, the reality of what leaders should do, have changed over time, I would suggest that the foundational purpose of a leader has stayed the same, especially in the organizational context. The purpose of an organizational leader, yesterday, today, and tomorrow, is to create the greatest level of value for the organization in everything they do. In other words, it is the perception of value that changes, the job of the leader has stayed the same.

Now, admittedly, we could say that in the day and age of the authoritarian leader, we were quite mistaken that organizations were, in fact, creating “the greatest level of value” with their top-down approach and “telling” rather than “seeking” tactics. We have learned today that this was never the most effective way of running an organization. However, that was a culture-wide phenomenon; one could equally argue that the employee mindset was as fixated on their mistaken need for absolute authority by leaders as leaders’ mindset was on leading that way.

And, not unimportantly, the definition of “value” was almost entirely focused in those days on financials: increased revenue, decreased expenses, capital investment, the bottom line and, for the “for-profits”, always the drive to increase stockholder share. Every decision that was made, every new process created, and every new hire brought in was, at its root, a financial decision. Today, these financial considerations are still front and center – it’s not like the push for revenue has gone away or will ever go away in the overall business environment. But what has become very clear is that the sustainable path to financial growth must include what, at least on the surface, seems to be some very non-financial considerations.

Today we believe (and I think rightfully so) that “greatest level of value” means a lot of different things at the same time, and a great deal of this is decided at the organizational level. And leaders, to fulfill their basic purpose, must align with the organizational definition of value, as defined by a new strategy, a new upgrade, a new process improvement or a new marketing initiative.

But there are ways that individual leaders can and should create the greatest level of value on their own initiative. For instance, when a leader takes action to increase team participation in formulating department goals, she is creating a pathway to greater ownership and engagement that research indicates also impacts productivity — in that way, she is creating greater levels of value for the organization. When a leader reaches out to establish higher levels of collaboration with a partnering group so that inter-department processes and handoffs will go smoother – he is creating greater levels of value for the organization. When a supervisor takes responsibility to infuse a greater emphasis on coaching employees, that supervisor is taking a personal stake in the growth and success of that employee – and they are creating greater levels of value for the organization. When leaders, on the other hand, opt not to do these things, they are actually detracting from value, and over time, disqualify themselves from being an authentic leader.

So, whether it is aligning with an organizational improvement or a new sense of direction, or seeking improvement or innovation within their own department, it is the leader’s calling to create the greatest level of value in everything they do. And because the organizational definitions of value change as time goes on, to be successful at creating the greatest level of value, the leader must embrace change, they must make the tough adjustments, they must be willing to move beyond what they are good at now, or what they are even naturally good at. To create value…leaders must be looking into jaws of personal growth all the time.

In some cases that growth can be just a matter of learning a new process or figuring out a new piece of software. Sometimes it may be redefining what you have always thought about what a team is supposed to be, or what collaboration looks like, or how to tear down a process and build it back better. And sometimes, it can be staring directly into the mirror to understand what and how you need to change something about yourself – something that you have always been – into something better and more effective. Yes, creating value can sometimes be a trip into the uncomfortable – into those hard places inside of yourself.

So, what are you willing to commit to? What are you willing to do to fulfill the purpose of the leader? What are you willing to do to create the greatest level of value for the organization? That answer probably has not changed over the years: “whatever it takes!”

That’s my opinion…what’s yours?