Leadership isn't about the tools; it's about the craftsman

Several months ago, I read an article in Harvard Business Review about "tough empathy." The authors claimed that tough empathy was the key to leadership. Perhaps tough empathy, at the right time, in the right place, with the right people, would be the right tool to use. However, it is just that -- a tool.

Despite the plethora of articles -- and companies -- who would like to convince us that there is ONE way to be an effective leader (the way they happen to be selling), the sobering truth about leadership is that there is NO one way to be all the time or to lead all the time.

Leaders have to be fully developed individuals who are capable of reading themselves, the people they are leading, and the situation and then decide upon the most effective way to lead.

Effective leadership comes from effective people who have developed themselves and who have attained a certain level of self-mastery. Leadership is not about finding the right tool and using it all the time. Leadership is about being a craftsman who can easily recognize what tool to reach for when and under what circumstances.