A client said to me as she shifted uncomfortably in her chair: 'You know, leadership is about being, not doing. And I am good at doing. I was a very good manager, but I am not sure what sort of leader I am.'

She is probably a very good leader, but she exemplifies the dilemma faced by many people as they move into leadership positions. They know what they are good at doing, but they are less sure who they need to be in order to be a good leader.

Part of this is down to the images of leaders we hold inside us. I notice the images that come to mind for me first are predominantly male followed at a distance by Margaret Thatcher : people who are out there, leading from the front, big, strong, getting things done, telling people what to do.

Then I think of the truly inspirational leaders, such as Martin Luther King, the Pankhursts or Greta Thunberg, and many people who have changed the way we think, such as Einstein, Jung, Freud or Newton.

They are all very big, very 'out there', larger than life, and so rather on a pedestal, and that's where we can get caught. Leadership can feel like stepping into very big shoes, which can be a challenge, but it isn't about stepping on to a pedestal. Pedestals are for statues, not real people. Real people step into shoes, and the challenge is in growing to fit those shoes, and adjusting the shoes to fit.

What do we mean by leadership?

Starting with what the shoes themselves look like, what is leadership? There are an infinite number of answers to that question!

'Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.' - Dwight D. Eisenhower

'Leaders are people who do the right thing; managers are people who do things right.' - Professor Warren G. Bennis

Or more prosaically:

'Leadership is the ability of an individual or a group of individuals to influence and guide followers or other members of an organisation.' - Mary Prat

Leadership involves a wide range of skills and qualities, such as;

• strategic leadership skills
• relational and communication qualities
• an ability to make decisions
• an ability to learn quickly
• an ability to manage and organise others
• and having personal qualities such as integrity, self -awareness, self-confidence, humility, tenacity, determination, energy and enthusiasm Margie Buchanan Smith, 2016, ALNAP