I’ve often said that management would be easy if it weren’t for the people part.
Kidding—mostly.
People leadership is tough. To be any good at it, you have to meet each of your team members where they are, flexing your style to fit theirs. You must simultaneously:
earn your team’s trust and their respect
motivate and inspire them while also holding them accountable
guide their individual development while aligning their interests with the needs of the organization
Leading people requires you to be a coach, cheerleader, therapist, teacher, mediator … and the list goes on. It’s a lot, even on a good day.
And on a bad day? People are delightfully human: unique, complicated, messy.
But people are the only part of leadership that truly matters.
No one will remember the goals you hit or the revenue you generated, but they will remember how you mentored, advocated for, and celebrated them.
Your legacy as a leader will be defined by the people you developed and the careers you helped shape.
Friday was my last day at Amazon. As I wound down my week, I was once again reminded that leadership is—and always will be—about people.
And it’s the people I’ll miss the most (including some of these lovely folks pictured below).
Bonus read: How you show up as a leader matters, a lot. If you want to earn your team’s trust and respect, try these three H’s—honesty, humility, and humanity.
