Leadership for What? Finding Clarity Beyond the Title

I love asking leaders a simple question: Leadership for what?

Not “what’s your title” or “what are your responsibilities” or “how many people are you in charge of?” Instead, the deeper question underneath it all. The reason.

Why do you want to lead? What are you trying to change or make better? And who are you trying to become in the process?

I’ve been thinking about that question more lately as my own understanding of leadership has shifted over the years. Earlier in my life, I chased leadership for the title. I thought the role itself carried the meaning. 

But the more experience I gained, the more I realized something important: titles don’t move things forward, the work does. And clarity about why you lead shapes the way you show up far more than any position ever will.

I see this play out inside organizations every day.

When we treat leadership as something only a few people “do,” everything starts revolving around the individual. We wait for the right person to step in. 

The questions become fixated on authority: "Who’s going to fix this?" and "Who has the final say?" We expect that single person to have all the answers. We assume their position is what moves things forward, and when they get stuck, everyone else stands still.

But when leadership centers on the challenge, the work that actually needs to move, the questions shift: What needs to change? What’s the real issue? How do we move toward it together? And most importantly, Why?

Suddenly leadership becomes something everyone can take part in, not something reserved for a select few. People step in. Responsibility gets shared. Progress becomes possible.

You don’t need a title to lead in that environment. You just need clarity about the challenge and the willingness to take the first step.

So ask yourself the question that cuts through noise, hierarchy, and ego: Leadership for what?

Because when your answer is rooted in purpose, not position, the work becomes the thing that shapes you and the impact grows far beyond the title you hold.