If you want to be a leader there is only one thing you need to get right. You need to care for the people who are under your charge. In business these days there is often the chronically misguided belief that the job of the leader is to get stuff out of his subordinates. This is not only mistaken, it is in fact a direct contradiction of the very thing that leading involves.
To be a leader you must be willing to sacrifice yourself for the good of your subordinates. If you are not willing to make such a personal sacrifice for those you lead then you are not a leader. The job of the leader is to look after the interests of his subordinates. The subordinates will reward the leader with trust and cooperation with each other. A good leader then produces a harmonious group because no individual needs to look out for their own interests, they have the leader doing that for them.
In this talk Simon Sinek makes this point very forcefully and convincingly. This is worth some serious contemplation.
Simon Sinek explores how leaders can inspire cooperation, trust and change. He’s the author of the classic “Start With Why”; his latest book is “Leaders Eat Last.” See full bio here