Want to Know If You’re a Great Leader? Look at the People Around You

Think about the best boss you ever had.

You may remember some of the things they taught you. But I suspect what you remember most is how they made you feel about yourself.

They made you feel capable. They believed in you, even when you weren’t sure you believed in yourself. They trusted you with something a little bigger than you thought you were ready for. And when you stumbled, they didn’t immediately take the work back. They helped you figure out what to do next.

Years later one of the most lasting measures of their success is what other people became because of their leadership. This is what separates the leaders who just manage people from the ones who genuinely transform the people around them—they develop other leaders. I call this being a Guiding Leader.

Leadership multiplies when shared. Here’s how you do it:

• Identify potential. Pay attention to strengths that may not show up in a job description. Who asks thoughtful questions? Who do others naturally turn to? Who takes initiative or stays calm when things get complicated? Sometimes leadership potential shows up long before someone has the title—or the parking space.

• Provide stretch opportunities. Believing in someone isn’t enough. Give them opportunities to prove what they can do. That might mean leading a meeting, taking ownership of a project, handling a difficult conversation, or making a decision you normally would have made yourself. Confidence grows because someone took on something difficult and discovered, I can do this.

• Offer feedback and support. Effective delegation requires more than saying, “Figure it out.” Set the destination, and then make sure they have the appropriate authority, resources, boundaries, and support.

Long after you have moved on, the people you developed are still leading, deciding, encouraging, and developing others. Your impact lasts through others.