A leader can be defined by what he or she does for the company in terms of results and development but another perspective is what they do for the people in their charge. As a leader you have a responsibility to take care of the people serving under you. If you do this you will have a loyal team that do their best to not let you or the company down.

Part of this is to challenge them to grow and develop. To challenge someone you need to make them move out of their comfort zone. You can push them but in my experience it is far more effective to go with them. If they feel you got their back they will surely have yours when the time comes.

A quotation that captures this elegantly is the jewel from Joel Barker. It is simple and yet powerful!

“A leader is someone you’d follow to go somewhere that you wouldn’t go by yourself.”

Joel Barker