Leadership Isn’t Broken – Our Understanding of It Is
- Mar 13
- 5 min read
Written by Mark Proctor, Leadership and Success Advisor
Mark Proctor is a success advisor, leadership coach, and former elite military leader with over 30 years’ experience developing high-performing teams worldwide. He empowers leaders to build courage, clarity, and lasting impact through values-driven action.
I’ve sat in more meetings than I care to count where everyone in the room was capable. Intelligent. Decent people trying to do the right thing. The slides were polished. The language sounded professional. Actions were typed up neatly at the end. And yet when we walked out, we didn’t feel like we got what we came for.
No one had made a catastrophic mistake. No one had behaved badly. But no one had really led either. There is a particular flatness to that feeling. Activity without traction. Effort that does not quite move anything.
I know it because I have created it in the past. For years I thought leadership meant driving harder, knowing more, and projecting certainty. I spent over three decades in environments where hesitation carried consequences. In those places you learn quickly that indecision can cost people dearly. But what I did not understand for a long time was that clarity and control are not the same thing. Misunderstanding that cost me.
There was a period when the pressure, some of it external and much of it self imposed, became unsustainable. I ended up in hospital. That is not a dramatic statement. It is simply what happened. My body called time on an idea of leadership that was built on endurance and performance rather than understanding. That experience stripped away any appetite I had for slogans or theatre. It left me with a question that has shaped everything since. What if leadership is not failing because people do not care. What if we have just misunderstood what it is for.
The cost we do not talk about
When leadership goes wrong, it rarely explodes. It slowly fades. You see it in capable people who stop offering ideas. In teams that deliver what is asked but nothing more. In the subtle acceptance that says it is safer not to stick my head above the parapet.
Burnout does not always come from too much work. Sometimes it comes from unclear intent and from not fully understanding the why. It can come from pushing hard in a direction no one has properly examined. It can also come from carrying responsibility without permission or empowerment to shape outcomes. I have seen talented officers and senior executives reduced to hesitation because the environment around them rewarded compliance more than courage. Not deliberately, just quietly over time. That was when I started reframing the whole thing.
Leadership is not a role
One of the most persistent myths is that leadership sits in a box on an organisational chart. Rank. Title. Position. That thinking creates waiting rooms and stifles innovation. People hold back until they are senior enough. They defer upwards and forget how to think. They assume leadership will arrive or that it comes with authority or certain appointments. But leadership is not granted. It is exercised and acted upon. It is an action.
It happens when someone says this is not clear, let us slow down. Or I am not convinced that will work and here is why. Or simply what are we actually trying to achieve.
These are not grand statements but rather small acts of responsibility. When leadership is treated as a role, people protect territory. When it is understood as an action, people step forward, sometimes awkwardly and sometimes imperfectly, because the outcome matters. That change sounds subtle. It is not.
So what is it for
For a long time I was more interested in how leaders should behave than in why leadership exists at all. Eventually, after enough missteps and reflection, I came to something much simpler. The purpose of leadership is to set the conditions for success. Yes, it really is that simple.
Not to be the hero. Not to have every answer. Not to dominate the room. Instead, it is to create clarity, to make intent explicit, to remove friction where possible, and to make it easier rather than harder for other people to do good work.
Before I challenge performance now, I tend to ask myself a few uncomfortable questions and take more ownership. Was my intent clear, or did I assume it was. Was I genuinely available, or just physically present. Have I created the conditions for this team to succeed, or simply demanded that they do. The answers are not always flattering.
The quiet damage of absence
Leadership absence rarely looks dramatic. It looks like meetings that start without being clear about what they are for and end without decisions. Plans evaporate because no one owns the next move. Energy is spent on optics rather than outcomes.
People will always follow something. If it is not clear intent, it will be habit, fear, or the path that attracts the least resistance. Left unchecked, that pattern hardens. Trust reduces and standards become optional. No single moment marks the decline. It just happens. That is the part that concerns me most. Not loud or obvious failure, but the quiet shift into accepting standards that should never have been acceptable.
What you can do today
The good news is that none of this requires a promotion or a job change. Before your next meeting, be explicit about why it exists. Not vaguely. Precisely. What would make this hour worthwhile.
Pick one moment this week where you are fully present. Put the phone down. Do not scan the room for hierarchy. Just pay attention. At the end of a conversation, close it properly. Decide what happens next, who owns it, and by when. Say it out loud. Ambiguity is expensive in both time and money.
These are not grand reforms. They are small corrections. Repeated often enough, they change the temperature of a team.
Where to go next
This is the work we do at Green & Scarlet Leadership and Advisory, helping leaders move from good intentions to deliberate leadership practice. Whether through coaching, facilitation, or tools such as The Ultimate Leadership Journal, our focus is on leadership that is human, grounded, and sustainable under real world pressure.
If this article resonated, you can find more here and check out The Ultimate Guide to Leadership. Leadership does not begin with a title. It begins the moment someone chooses to step forward, especially when it would be easier not to.
Takeaways
Leadership usually fails not because people do not care, but because we misunderstand its purpose, which is simply to create the conditions for others to succeed.
Leadership is not a title or position. It is small acts of responsibility taken in the moment.
When intent is not clear, teams lose direction. Activity increases but traction disappears.
Real leadership creates clarity, removes friction, and makes it easier for others to do good work.
Absence of leadership erodes trust quietly. Hesitation grows, standards slip, and people stop speaking up.
You can change this today with small actions. Be clear on intent, be fully present, and close conversations with decisions.
Read more from Mark Proctor
Mark Proctor, Leadership and Success Advisor
Mark Proctor is an internationally recognised success advisor and leadership coach with more than three decades of elite military leadership experience. He specialises in helping leaders overcome self-doubt, elevate their confidence, and translate values into measurable action. After a distinguished global career, Mark founded Green and Scarlet Leadership to develop courageous, principled, and high-impact leaders. His work blends strategic insight with deep human understanding, empowering clients to think to the finish, act with purpose, and unlock their full potential. Mark’s mission is simple: build confident leaders who change their world for the better.
