The Most Important Leadership Question You’ll Ever Answer

This week's Two-Minute Tip is a little more serious than most.

Recently, I watched someone pursue leadership for all the wrong reasons. It worked for a while...until it didn't.

Their leadership didn't fail because of a lack of capability. It failed because of their motivation.

If you're in leadership—or hoping to step into a leadership role someday—before you worry about whether or not you're capable, ask yourself this: 

Why do I want to lead?

Watch this week’s (90-second) Two-Minute Tip to hear what I mean.

• Read the video transcript

  Patrick Lencioni says he doesn't love the term servant leadership because he believes all leadership is servant leadership. I couldn't agree more. And recently, I saw an example of the opposite in action. This person was in leadership because they wanted power and prestige, not because they cared about serving the people underneath them well and serving the mission well.

  And so if you are considering leadership, I would say it's not so much a question of whether or not you want to lead. It's why you want to lead.

  What excites you most? Having the title? Making more money? Being able to influence? Or helping the people around you grow and accomplishing meaningful work together? The first few aren't inherently bad. It's okay to want to have influence and to look good and to make more money. But they should not be the primary reason. Because here's the deal.

  If you pursue the position for the wrong reasons, you may do okay at first, but pretty soon it will backfire. The people under you will recognize that you aren't in the position for the right reasons.

  And while an organization can give you a title, they can give you a spot on the org chart, they can't force people to trust you. They can't force people to want to go the extra mile for you. They can't force people to follow you.

  And so at the end of the day, if your desire to be in leadership is not related to a desire to serve well and steward the position and organization well, then I would argue that you shouldn't be in leadership at all.