Your Title Doesn't Make You a Leader. Your Actions Do.
Leadership is defined not by the authority your title grants, but by the positive impact your actions have on those around you.
Your Title Doesn't Make You a Leader. Your Actions Do.
By Evelyn Talatala Clough
Throughout my career, I've had the privilege of working with some exceptional leaders. I've also worked for a few who taught me equally valuable lessons, although perhaps not in the way they intended.
Some showed me the kind of leader I wanted to become.
Others showed me the kind of leader I promised myself I would never be.
And looking back, I've learned something from both.
A title may give you authority, but it doesn't automatically make you a leader. Your actions do.
When Leadership Makes You Feel Small
I once worked for someone who seemed to find fault in almost everything I accomplished.
No matter what I delivered, it never seemed good enough. My contributions were frequently diminished, and my accomplishments were rarely acknowledged.
This same individual often spoke about his own success and encouraged me to follow his example if I wanted to become successful.
But I began to realize that we had very different definitions of success.
To me, success has never been measured solely by the title on my business card or where I sit on an organizational chart. It's about the life I've built, the family I've raised, the people I love, the independence I've achieved, and the difference I've made along the way.
But success is also about bringing people along with me. It's about opening doors, creating opportunities, and watching others grow and achieve things they may not have thought possible.
Because what good is reaching the top if you've never helped anyone else climb?
I'm proud of my professional accomplishments. But I'm equally proud of the people I've helped develop and the life I've built outside my career.
To me, that's what success looks like.
When my work was repeatedly criticized or diminished, I rarely responded. Not because I agreed, but because I didn't believe I needed to defend every accomplishment to prove my worth.
Eventually, I made the decision to leave. Not because I couldn't do the job, but because I could no longer see myself thriving under that kind of leadership.
That experience taught me an important lesson.
A leader's job is not to make people feel smaller so they can appear bigger. It's to help people become better than they thought they could be.
The Leader Who Helped Me Grow
Fortunately, I've also experienced the other side of leadership.
One of the people who has had the greatest influence on my professional journey is Darryl.
Darryl challenged me. He motivated me. He supported me.
He recognized my strengths, but he also understood my weaknesses. And instead of using those weaknesses against me, he deliberately encouraged me to take on responsibilities that would help me overcome them.
Sometimes that meant pushing me outside my comfort zone.
Sometimes it meant asking me to do something I wasn't entirely confident I could do.
But he believed in my ability to grow, even when I wasn't sure of myself.
And that made all the difference.
What's especially meaningful about our relationship is how it evolved over the years.
I've worked for Darryl. We've been peers. And at different points in our careers, Darryl has worked for me. Our titles changed. Our reporting relationships changed. But the respect never did.
Today, Darryl remains one of my biggest cheerleaders, supporters, and trusted sounding boards. More importantly, he's become a dear friend.
And that, to me, says something about genuine leadership.
When your influence continues long after the reporting relationship ends, you've done something right.
Leadership Isn't About Being Liked
Over the years, I've also learned that being a good leader doesn't mean everyone will always agree with you.
Leadership requires difficult decisions. It requires accountability.
It means having uncomfortable conversations, setting expectations, and sometimes telling people things they don't want to hear.
I've had to do all of those things.
But there's a difference between challenging someone's performance and diminishing their value.
A good leader can tell you that your work needs improvement without making you feel incapable.
A good leader can hold you accountable without humiliating you.
And a good leader can recognize someone else's strengths without feeling that those strengths somehow diminish their own.
In fact, I believe one of the greatest accomplishments of any leader is developing people who eventually become better than they are. That shouldn't threaten us. It should make us proud.
What Will People Remember?
As I've grown in my career, I've become increasingly aware that leadership is not simply about the results we deliver. Results matter. Performance matters. Accountability matters.
But so do people.
The way we treat them when they're struggling.
The opportunities we give them when they're ready to grow.
The confidence we help them build. And the respect we show them, regardless of their position.
I've held leadership titles throughout my career, and I'm grateful for the opportunities and responsibilities that came with them.
But I hope that when people look back on the time they worked with me, they remember more than my title.
I hope they remember someone who challenged them, believed in them, supported them, and helped them become better.
Because one day, the title will be gone. Someone else will occupy the office. Someone else will make the decisions. But the impact we had on people can remain long after we've moved on.
The greatest measure of a leader isn't how far they've climbed, but how many people they've helped rise along the way.
Your title may tell people what position you hold.
Your actions tell them what kind of leader you are.
And perhaps the most important question every leader should ask is this:
When people look back on the time they worked with you, will they remember someone who made them question their worth—or someone who helped them discover what they were capable of becoming?
