The Myth of the “Leader” A Buzzword in a Suit

You’re in an elevator. Boss turns:
“Define leadership. Go.”
You stammer. “Uhm… yeah well… something about vision? Inspiring others?”
You just became a human LinkedIn post.
Congrats, you’ve exposed leadership’s dirtiest secret: it’s often smoke and buzzwords.
Here’s the truth: there is no universally agreed-upon definition of leadership. Never was. It’s a shape-shifting idea, built to flatter the powerful and pacify everyone else. We dress it up in soft skills, sprinkle some TED Talk glitter on top, and pretend we all know what it means.
Modern culture canonizes “leaders” glossy CEOs, chest-thumping presidents, influencers with square jaws and circular logic.
Strip away the branding, what’s left?

You want a definition? Fine.
A leader is someone who steps in, not because they’re told, but because they must.
Not assigned. Not anointed. Not staged.
Just someone who sees the mess, claims it, and moves.
No spotlight. No badge. Just instinct and nerve.
Even this definition is reductive as hell.
And no, I’m not defending a hill here. Just lighting a few on fire.

If anything’s sacred, it’s tearing out the corporate wiring that’s fried our ability to speak clearly.
Disagree? Cool. But bring voltage.

There are great leaders out there. There might even be one at the Annual Leadership Retreat. Imagine that. But the label is handed out like party favors, and it leaves the rest feeling like impostors.
I watched a new hire in the office score himself on “Leadership Skill” during a KPI session.
He fidgeted. “I just want to do the work. I only joined recently. Istill don’t know where everything is. But I’m willing, I am.”
And yet here we are, taught to chase leadership like it’s some moral upgrade.
As if not being “a leader” makes you lesser.
It doesn’t.
If you haven’t been anointed, if you don’t feel like a leader, relax. That pedestal comes with surveillance and strings.
Influence without the title is usually more honest. More earned. Less rehearsed.
So stop feeling unworthy for not playing along. Opt out of the play. Ditch the costume. Write your own damn role.
Be the critic.
Be the one who rewrites the script.
Or burns it entirely.

We’re drowning in leaders and leadership clichés.
Maybe the world “needs” fewer followers?
We could do with more people willing to take responsibility and do the work, with zero interest in the badge.

Matt