Leadership has become one of the most popular words in business.
We hear about leadership in books, podcasts, conferences, training courses, and social media posts. We talk about leadership styles, leadership mindsets, leadership presence, leadership communication, thought leadership, and self-leadership. It seems that almost everything we do today can somehow be connected to leadership. While I understand the intention behind this, I sometimes wonder whether we are using the word so much that it is beginning to lose its meaning. In my work, I spend a lot of time training managers and leaders. The more I do this, the more I find myself questioning how we use the term leadership today.
“I believe the overuse of the word leadership is slowly reducing its value. When every positive behaviour is called leadership, we risk forgetting what leadership actually is and why it matters.”
At its core, leadership is about influencing people towards a shared goal. It involves responsibility, direction, decision-making, and accountability. Leadership is not simply being knowledgeable, proactive, or good at your job. These are valuable qualities, but they are not leadership by themselves.
One of the consequences of the popularity of leadership is that many people now see becoming a leader as the ultimate career goal. We often encourage people to “step into leadership” as if leadership is the natural destination for everyone.
I am not convinced that this is true.
Organizations need different types of people. They need specialists, technicians, operators, administrators, supervisors, managers, and leaders. Every role contributes to success in its own way. Not everyone wants to manage people. Not everyone enjoys making difficult decisions, resolving conflicts, carrying responsibility for a team, or being accountable for results. There is nothing wrong with that.
In fact, some of the most valuable employees I have met had no desire to become managers or leaders. They were experts in what they did. They took pride in their work, supported their colleagues, and consistently delivered excellent results. Their contribution was not less valuable because they did not hold a leadership position.
Unfortunately, many organizations still promote their best technical performers into management positions. A great guide becomes Head Guide. A great chef becomes Kitchen Manager. A great accountant becomes Finance Manager.
Sometimes this works well. Sometimes it does not.
The skills that make someone excellent in their profession are often different from the skills needed to manage and lead people. Technical expertise does not automatically translate into management capability or leadership effectiveness.
This is where I believe we should make a clearer distinction between management and leadership.
Management is a role. Leadership is a behaviour.
A manager is formally responsible for planning, organizing, coordinating resources, monitoring performance, and achieving results through others. Because of these responsibilities, managers also need leadership skills. They need to influence people, build trust, communicate direction, and develop their teams.
That is why I often say that managers need to be leaders.
The opposite, however, is not necessarily true.
Leadership can exist without a management position. An experienced employee who mentors others can demonstrate leadership. A team member who influences colleagues positively can demonstrate leadership. A person can lead through their actions, attitude, and example without ever managing anyone.
But that does not mean everyone should become a leader.
Perhaps the real objective should not be creating more leaders. Perhaps it should be helping people contribute at their highest level, whatever role they occupy.
A healthy organization is not one where everyone is trying to lead. It is one where people understand their role, take responsibility, and contribute effectively.
Some people will lead. Some will manage. Some will become highly skilled specialists. All of these roles are important.
The danger of calling everything leadership is that we unintentionally elevate leadership above all other contributions. We start believing that leadership is the only path to significance, while overlooking the importance of expertise, craftsmanship, reliability, and professionalism.
The world needs good leaders.
But it also needs good managers, skilled professionals, dedicated team members, and people who simply take pride in doing their work well.
Leadership remains important. In fact, I would argue it is too important to be used as a label for every positive behaviour we see.
If we want leadership to retain its value, we should be more careful in how we use the term and clearer about what leadership actually means.
Not everyone needs to be a manager.
Not everyone needs to be a leader.
But everyone can contribute, take responsibility, and make a difference in the role they choose to fulfil.
After years of working with managers, leaders, and entrepreneurs, I have come to appreciate leadership more, not less. Perhaps that is why I have become more careful with the word. Leadership matters too much to become a label for everything. The better we understand what leadership is, the more we can value the many other important contributions that make organizations successful.
Peter Henssen
