{"id":1834,"date":"2026-08-31T10:35:55","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T10:35:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/samgembel.com\/blog\/?p=1834"},"modified":"2026-08-31T10:41:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T10:41:12","slug":"what-does-it-really-mean-to-be-a-leader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/samgembel.com\/blog\/what-does-it-really-mean-to-be-a-leader\/","title":{"rendered":"WHAT DOES IT REALLY MEAN TO BE A LEADER?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cLeadership is influence. Nothing more, nothing less.\u201d<\/em> – John Maxwell<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

What does it actually mean to be a leader?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think we\u2019ve complicated leadership over the years. Leadership isn\u2019t a title. It isn\u2019t being the loudest person in the room, having the biggest office, or having 100 people underneath your name on an organizational chart. And leadership sure as heck isn\u2019t being a salesman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sure, you can be persuasive. You can sell people on a vision, fire everyone up at the Monday morning meeting, and give one heck of a speech about where the company is going. There\u2019s nothing wrong with any of that. In fact, communication is an incredibly important part of leadership. But eventually the sales pitch wears off. Your people stop listening to what you say and start paying attention to what you do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Maxwell has famously said, \u201cLeadership is influence. Nothing more, nothing less.\u201d I think that might be one of the simplest definitions of leadership ever written.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To me, leadership can be boiled down even further into two words:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s leadership. You are looking at another human being and saying, \u201cI know where we\u2019re going. I\u2019m willing to go first. Follow me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that is exactly why leadership is so freaking hard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

YOU HAVE TO GIVE UP TO GO UP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve been talking a lot lately about the different levels of leadership and what it takes to continue growing as a leader. Everybody wants to move up. We want a bigger company, more employees, more responsibility, more money, more opportunities, and more influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But everybody who wants the next level needs to understand something: the next level is going to cost you something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of my favorite John Maxwell principles is that you have to give up to go up. That concept has become more real to me the longer I\u2019ve been in business. Everybody wants what comes with the next level, but not everybody wants to become the person required to lead at that level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes you have to give up comfort. Sometimes you have to give up sleep. Sometimes you have to give up being liked by everybody. Sometimes you have to give up your ego and admit that you screwed something up. Sometimes you have to give up control and allow somebody else to make a decision differently than you would have made it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And sometimes leadership is a lot less glamorous than all of that. Sometimes it\u2019s simply getting your butt out of bed early in the morning, showing up before everybody else, doing the things nobody else wants to do, and somehow doing them with a smile on your face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because you told people, \u201cFollow me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we want to understand what that really looks like inside a business, I think there are three principles every leader needs to understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. LEADERS GO FIRST<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the biggest misconceptions about leadership is that moving up means you no longer have to do the hard stuff. I believe the opposite is true. The higher you climb, the more responsibility you carry for setting the standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, let me be clear. If you own a $10+ million landscape company, \u201cgoing first\u201d doesn\u2019t mean jumping on a mower every morning to prove to your employees that you can still cut grass. At that point, doing everyone else\u2019s job isn’t leadership. It might actually mean you haven’t learned how to delegate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going first means modeling the standard you expect from everybody else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you expect your team to be on time, you should probably be early. If you want people to admit when they make mistakes, they need to hear you admit yours. If you want managers to have difficult conversations, you can’t avoid the difficult conversations sitting on your own desk. If you expect people to continue learning and growing, your bookshelf shouldn’t have an inch of dust on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think about a cold, rainy Monday morning at a landscape company. It\u2019s 5:30 a.m. Everyone knows it\u2019s going to be a miserable day. The schedule is packed, the weather sucks, and nobody really wants to be standing there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The leader walks into the shop and says, \u201cThis dang weather. What a terrible day this is going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you think happens to the room?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now take the exact same morning, exact same weather, exact same workload, and exact same problems. The leader walks through the door with a smile and says, \u201cMorning, boys! We\u2019ve worked in worse. Let\u2019s have a great day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nothing about the circumstances changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The leader changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your attitude is contagious. Your work ethic is contagious. Your response to adversity is contagious. Whether you realize it or not, your people are constantly watching you and asking, \u201cIs this how we respond when things get difficult around here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your example answers that question long before your employee handbook does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. LEADERSHIP REQUIRES SACRIFICE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is leadership so hard?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because real leadership isn\u2019t primarily about what you get. It\u2019s about what you are willing to give.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Napoleon Hill wrote extensively about having a definite purpose and determining what you are willing to give in return for what you desire. I think that question applies beautifully to leadership: What are you willing to give in exchange for becoming the leader you say you want to become?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That question gets uncomfortable quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine a business owner with 10 employees who desperately wants to grow to 50. He wants multiple crews, a leadership team, better systems, and eventually a company that can operate without him being involved in every little decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s only one problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He still wants control over everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every customer calls him. Every employee comes to him. Every purchase needs his approval. Every problem gets dumped on his desk. Every meaningful decision somehow finds its way back to the owner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then one day he looks around frustrated and says, \u201cWhy won’t my managers lead?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because you haven’t given them anything to lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sacrifice required at that owner’s next level might not be working more hours. It might be giving up control. He has to allow another leader to make a decision differently than he would. He has to let somebody struggle without immediately rescuing them. He has to coach instead of taking over. He may even have to watch someone make a mistake he could have prevented because developing that person is more important than proving that the owner always has the answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s sacrifice too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You have to give up to go up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every new level of leadership requires us to leave part of our old way of operating behind. That’s one of the reasons growth can be so uncomfortable. We keep asking God, our business, or our team for the next level while desperately holding onto the habits that got us through the last one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. GREAT LEADERS CREATE MORE LEADERS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This might be THE biggest shift in leadership of all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early in your leadership journey, success feels like having people follow you. As you grow, success needs to become developing people who can lead without you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine two different companies that each have 50 employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Company A has an incredible owner. He knows every customer. Employees call him whenever there is a problem. He sells a huge percentage of the work. He motivates everybody. He approves decisions. He jumps into operations whenever something goes wrong. Everyone in the company knows that if things get bad enough, the owner will always step in and fix it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the outside, that guy looks like an incredible leader!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then he leaves for a week. Everything starts falling apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Company B looks different. The owner may actually be less visible in the day-to-day operation. He has developed an operations leader who can make decisions. That operations leader has developed crew leaders underneath his charge. The sales manager is developing salespeople. Account managers own their customer relationships. People understand their responsibilities and know what winning looks like without constantly asking the owner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The owner leaves for a week, and the company keeps moving right along.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which company has the better leader?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A younger version of me probably would have picked Company A because that owner looks so incredibly important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, I’m taking Company B all day long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because one of the greatest tests of your leadership isn’t what happens when you walk into the room. It’s what happens when you walk out of it. At some point, leadership stops being about how many people follow you and starts being about how many leaders exist because you invested in them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WOULD YOU FOLLOW YOU?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I really want you to think about this one today. This might be one of the most uncomfortable questions any of us can ask ourselves as leaders: Would you follow you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Would you want to work for you? Would you trust you when things got difficult? Would you believe what you say? Would you respect how you treat people when you’re frustrated? Would you want to become more like the person you see leading you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because your people are answering those questions whether you ask them or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every interaction is building influence or spending it. They watch how you respond when something goes wrong. They notice how you treat the employee who can’t do anything for you. They hear how you talk about someone after that person leaves the room. They notice whether you accept responsibility or immediately start searching for someone to blame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And they absolutely notice whether the standards you preach apply to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your example is constantly telling the people around you one of two things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to follow this person.\u201d Or: \u201cNo way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FEAR CAN CREATE COMPLIANCE. IT CAN’T CREATE COMMITMENT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can absolutely lead people with fear. In fact, fear can work surprisingly well for a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People can be afraid of getting yelled at, losing their job, making a mistake, disappointing the boss, or being embarrassed in front of everyone. Fear can make people move. They will hit deadlines, follow instructions, keep their heads down, and do exactly what they\u2019re told.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there is a massive difference between compliance and commitment. Fear can create compliance. It rarely creates commitment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eventually people stop bringing you ideas because they don’t want to be wrong. They stop taking calculated risks because mistakes aren’t safe. They stop telling you the truth because they’ve learned that the truth might make you ticked off. Instead of figuring out how to help the company win, they figure out how to survive the leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s not influence. That’s control. And control always has an expiration date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

YOUR PEOPLE ARE WATCHING<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve given a lot of talks now over the years. I’ve stood in front of our company and talked about culture, standards, accountability, growth, opportunity, and where we’re headed. I believe those conversations matter. But I’ve learned something super important along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your team will eventually believe your behavior more than your words. Every single time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can hang core values on the wall. You can print them on shirts. You can talk about them in meetings. You can put them on the side of the truck. But if the leaders of the organization don’t live them, they’re nothing more than decoration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People don’t follow posters. They follow people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your people are watching how you respond. They’re watching whether you keep your word. They’re watching whether you work when nobody is watching. They’re watching how you treat your family, customers, coworkers, and the newest employee on the crew. They’re watching whether you take responsibility. They’re watching whether you’re still willing to learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your example is always speaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So maybe the question isn’t, \u201cAm I a leader?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If people are watching you, you already are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The better question is: Where am I leading them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leadership isn’t convincing people that you’re worth following. Leadership is becoming the kind of person people choose to follow.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get up early. Do the hard things. Take responsibility. Give up what the next level requires you to give up. Develop the people behind you. Smile when everybody else is complaining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then turn around and say: Follow me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No sales pitch required.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cLeadership is influence. Nothing more, nothing less.\u201d – John Maxwell What does it actually mean to be a leader? I think we\u2019ve complicated leadership over the years. Leadership isn\u2019t a title. It isn\u2019t being the loudest person in the room, having the biggest office, or having 100 people underneath your name on an organizational chart. … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1835,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-leadership","category-organizational-growth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samgembel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samgembel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samgembel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samgembel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samgembel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1834"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/samgembel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1836,"href":"https:\/\/samgembel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1834\/revisions\/1836"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samgembel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samgembel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samgembel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samgembel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}