I was coaching an executive near the top of one of Canada’s big banks. She called me in one day to talk about running a leadership program for her team.

On my way to her office, I had decided I would only do this program if it were for the right reasons. Too many times, I’ve had requests that amount to ‘fix my team.’

The simple truth is I can’t fix People or teams because they’re not broken. To try and fix them often causes more problems than it solves,

During our meeting, I asked many questions as we dug into why she wanted this program.

We covered many topics like teamwork, productivity, and conflict in her leadership team.

There was a moment in the conversation when I asked, “All of those things sound great. But why is doing this work so important to you?”

She got quiet and looked thoughtfully out the window for a moment.

Then she said, “I believe everyone in my organization should be able to come to work knowing they’re valued not just for what they do, but also as a human being.”

At that moment, I knew I wanted to work with this executive and her team. Simply because her belief around the importance of treating her people like people came shining through.

It was an honour to be a part of and witness this leadership transform themselves, their team, and their organization.

What is leadership?

Leadership development is a 366 billion dollar per year industry.

It’s not hard to see why the topic has had explosive growth over the years.

Take, for example, how our current reality has things going sideways in the world of business:

• We’ve spent the past few years working remotely, and it turns out that asking people to return to the office isn’t so simple.
• The so-called Great Resignation has plenty of leaders worried about losing their current staff and trying to attract new people.
• We seem to be heading towards a recession, and leaders might have to make some tough decisions soon, even though some of those decisions will only accelerate the rate at which we find ourselves in a recession

What if, though, we’re wasting all that leadership development money on something that isn’t a thing?

Seriously, what if leadership isn’t a thing?

After all, some of history’s greatest leaders never attended a leadership course or received a certification.

Instead, they simply held a strong belief and took action. Through this simple formula, they inspired others to follow.

After all, people follow others because of their beliefs and not their skills, certifications or titles.

Go ahead and take workshops, watch videos, and read books.

Just never lose sight of what you believe, because that’s why people follow you.

You’ve got this.