A leader with a strong sense of purpose, extreme confidence in their decision-making abilities, extraordinarily high standards for excellence, and a clear vision of how to single-handedly steer any project to success is often called a “Hero Leader.”
Another great article! I certainly do not think of myself as the smartest person in the room because I have so much to learn from others. I can appreciate these individuals, and learn from them, but what exactly am I learning. How to be a good human being? How to relate to others and pull them up? Confidence in one's thoughts and ideas is one thing but it must always be dosed with a healthy sense of "wonder" and humility for the things that you don't know.
Great piece and you are spot on. Hero leaders want to be just that, the hero of their world with everyone else in a supporting role.
Unfortunately, that means these leaders take credit for the work of the team, do little to encourage or train their team and grab all the good projects.
In my opinion, great leaders are people who empower, enable and develop their teams. It's a sign of a great leader that nothing falls apart if they are away for a few weeks. And rather than publicize their own achievements, publicize those of their teams.
True leadership isn’t about swooping in but stepping back—allowing others to develop their strengths and take ownership of their successes. Real impact comes not from being the loudest voice but from creating space for others to shine.
Leadership isn’t about brilliance, dominance, or intervention—it’s about trust, delegation, and support. Hero Leaders often miss that their overreach stifles growth and creativity in their teams. The best leaders know their greatest success isn’t what they do alone but what their teams achieve together.
"A leader must be willing to do anything, and realize they can't do everything.." - Plutarch.
Have a good week everyone.
Thank you for your time.
Fitting quote, Joe. Thank you.
Great final sentence: “Real heroes don’t save the day. They place themselves at risk for the benefit of others.”
Professor Salvucci,
Solid point. How many employees and/or self proclaimed "leaders" operate in this manner?
Thank you for your time.
-Joe
Agreed. The closer is 🔥
Do we misread our archetypes?
We want to be a hero without realizing the path and behaviors of the hero's journey.
This post is a great reminder, but it certainly should be more obvious to people.
Another great article! I certainly do not think of myself as the smartest person in the room because I have so much to learn from others. I can appreciate these individuals, and learn from them, but what exactly am I learning. How to be a good human being? How to relate to others and pull them up? Confidence in one's thoughts and ideas is one thing but it must always be dosed with a healthy sense of "wonder" and humility for the things that you don't know.
Great piece and you are spot on. Hero leaders want to be just that, the hero of their world with everyone else in a supporting role.
Unfortunately, that means these leaders take credit for the work of the team, do little to encourage or train their team and grab all the good projects.
In my opinion, great leaders are people who empower, enable and develop their teams. It's a sign of a great leader that nothing falls apart if they are away for a few weeks. And rather than publicize their own achievements, publicize those of their teams.
We took an extra 15 minutes to discuss this topic in more depth:
https://x.com/admiredleaders/status/1863674354371829857?s=46
True leadership isn’t about swooping in but stepping back—allowing others to develop their strengths and take ownership of their successes. Real impact comes not from being the loudest voice but from creating space for others to shine.
Leadership isn’t about brilliance, dominance, or intervention—it’s about trust, delegation, and support. Hero Leaders often miss that their overreach stifles growth and creativity in their teams. The best leaders know their greatest success isn’t what they do alone but what their teams achieve together.
True...
I think 'decisiveness' as a leadership trait is very overrated for the reasons that you just explained, Robert.
How often are we short circuiting a leadership development opportunity for our team members by swooping in with an answer too quickly?