Taking action or ‘doing’ is required in today’s business world, yet when the action is in isolation of a strong foundation, results will not be the required outcome. This article expands upon the missing link of ‘being’ leadership prior to ‘doing leadership’.

Too many leaders rush to do leadership before they ever learn to be leaders.

Many executives set strategies, chase KPIs and deliver results, yet wonder why true followership and sustained results lag. The Leadership Challenge®, a globally-reputed leadership methodology shows us that exemplary leadership begins not with tasks, but with trust. People follow people, not positions.

Trust: The Non-Negotiable Foundation

In the past, trust meant someone knew the rules or could be relied upon when problems arose. Today, trust is much more personal. It is built on connection, empathy and consistency. These are qualities future generations of leaders see as non-negotiable.

Behaviors that prove trustworthiness include:

• A genuine and ongoing interest in others.
• Credibility: words and actions match, time and again.
• Values lived, not just spoken.

And as the research of Kouzes and Posner, co-authors of The Leadership Challenge emphasizes: ‘The most trusted leaders follow through on their promises and commitments’. When leaders demonstrate this behavior very frequently, 86% of their direct reports strongly agree that they trust their leader.

Without trust, leadership feels like a technique. With trust, it converts into willing followership and influence. It becomes ‘change personified’.

Hope: The Magnet of the Future

Once trust is earned, followers seek more: hope. The Gallup Poll (2025) placed ‘hope’ as the #1 quality employees want from leaders today. Hope should not be vague optimism. Rather, it is direction, priorities, and a picture of a better future, one that serves with meaning.

As the research of Kouzes and Posner demonstrates: ‘Speaking with genuine conviction about the higher meaning and purpose of work raises direct reports’ assessment of their leaders’ effectiveness’. When leaders demonstrate this behavior very frequently, 79% of direct reports strongly agree that their leader is effective. This helps the hope become the catalyst for even stronger willing followership.

In times of automation, financial innovation and shifting business models, hope becomes the anchor; it stops leaders being pulled from ‘latest trend’ to ‘latest trend’. The question for leaders is: Does your vision invite people to play a role in its story?

From Being to Doing

With trust established and hope alive, people willingly step forward. This is when ‘doing leadership’ can be applied. Teams engage more openly with new ideas, take risks, and transform mistakes into learning. Competence, confidence and collaboration build momentum. Encouragement abounds

The missing link is clear: being leadership precedes doing leadership.

Closing Thought

Leadership is not a mask to wear or a toolkit to deploy; it should first and foremost be a way of being.

When leaders earn trust and offer hope, every action carries greater weight. Influence spreads, impact multiplies, and culture strengthens.

So before your next initiative, pause to ask:

• Have I earned my people’s trust?
• Have I offered my people hope worth following?

If yes, then doing leadership is no longer a task list. Rather it’s the natural outcome of who you are.

https://www.businessenmotion.com