Advice from a Leadership Consultant

Last night during a church dinner, I sat next to a leadership consultant. I asked her to summarize her absolute best advice for any leader.

She said: “Be helpful.”

Indeed. Great leaders serve. Great leaders help. I think about her advice and how most of us characterize our leadership with other words like visionary, decisive, confident, inclusive, empathetic, or any other word but this simple one: helpful. 

The advice changes how I go about leading classrooms, seminars, and meetings. When I’m leading, I’m conscious today of what it means to serve and to offer help as my primary leadership task.