In one of my previous organisations, a senior leader surprised us all by quitting his job and retiring the day he turned 50. We couldn’t imagine why anyone would make such a drastic decision. He was one of the most respected people in the organisation, and we were sure he was on his way to becoming CEO.

I have spent a long time trying to make sense of this decision, and after much soul-searching, come to realise that the most capable people are often the least interested in acquiring power.

Business leaders boast about their achievements, which are mostly focused on making money. But they confuse leadership with short-term performance, just like they confuse self-advancement with the betterment of the organisation and team building with their own popularity.

We often mistake charismatic speakers for wise leaders. We follow confident and well-paid voices, assuming they are strategic. We admire those who gain followers, wrongly assuming they are worth following.

But true leadership operates by different principles. It demands qualities our culture punishes, such as unpopularity, courage to say no, working quietly without flaunting their achievements and the strength to make long-term decisions for institution-building, such as developing their own successors.

The real leader is the person who understands the responsibility that comes with making decisions that affect a large number of people, who recognises their own shortcomings and who sees how power can adversely impact judgment.

Looking back at the senior leader who retired early, I may not be certain about his thinking, but these are all valid reasons for someone sensible to walk away from the way leadership roles are defined today.

This suggests that our entire approach to leadership is wrong. The real challenge for people who are identifying leaders for their organisations is not to look for the more ambitious and driven to lead, but to see who has silently demonstrated putting the long-term interests of the organisation and the welfare of others before their own comfort and status.

Worth thinking about 🤔