Many articles that talk about Leadership discuss it as if leadership is a concept that exists in isolation. I have learned that talking about leadership without identifying the context is not different from talking about swimming without mentioning water.
There are multiple different contexts that Leadership exists in (e.g., organizational culture, professional relationships or external environmental factors).
For the sake of this discussion, the context I am referring to is the professional relationships a leader has with the other individuals they work with who have a leadership title. This also includes some individuals who have unofficial leadership titles in their organization different from the other leaders in their professional world.
There are many different characteristics of a leaders that make up this context:
- Knowledge, skills & abilities
- Training / experience
- Values
- Years of experience
- Tenure in the current role
- Problem solving style
- Perspective on the external world
- Career goals
Each of these characteristics (as well as how they are combined), creates a different leader. Leadership is a coordinated effort among leaders with different approaches, and abilities. If someone asks you to go swimming, ask about the context of the water before you decide to go. There is a difference between swimming in a body of water that has the characteristics of “storming ocean”, and a body of water that has the characteristics of “backyard wading pool”.
The successful leader considers and then adjusts for the leadership context they find themselves in.