Leadership in the Limelight

It makes complete sense. Author Mollie Marti wrote, “A noble leader answers not to the trumpet calls of self-promotion, but to the hushed whispers of necessity.” At the core of the impact these influencers have had in leadership, you will find a heart of service.

With near absolute consistency, every leader who has been featured has required great coaxing before they agreed to accept the invitation to be featured. Simply put, a shared characteristic of these legendary leaders is that they have no desire to stand in the spotlight and receive recognition for their leadership.

with leaders of legendary status in the Corpus Christi real estate market, she has noticed a common thread. “I have to plead with them to let me write the feature on their impact in the community,” she reflected. “They don’t have any desire to take credit for the impact of their leadership.”

Tears had welled up in her eyes. The conversation we were having was about the growth she was experiencing in all areas of her life. She had come from a past where she had not been seen, where the value that she had was not reflected back to her, and where she had been severely critiqued without kindness by many around her. The conversation was about how to handle the affirmation she was now receiving, as her work was becoming more noticeable to a larger group of people, and her sphere of influence expanded. Leadership is a word often used, a topic often studied, and a skill never fully mastered. But like many words, it has no commonly accepted single, simple definition. We understand it the way we understand a kaleidoscope. We are familiar with it, but each time we take a look, we see something new. One thing is true. Leadership in any context, and at every level, simply comes down to being in a position to help others achieve. Being a source of help is the very core of leadership. And because helping another is an act of service that requires the subjugation of self-interest, then service and sacrifice are part and parcel of true leadership. Since its inaugural issue in June of this year, Corpus Christi Real Producers has presented a feature called Legendary Leader in each issue.

Regardless of the countless books that exist on the topic, leadership comes down to a very few core principles, the greatest of which is service to others. Based on the experience Real Producers has had in presenting Legendary Leaders, it seems that this is true even more so in the times that leaders are recognized for their leadership. They do not see themselves as the focus of the recognition. As it was during the times

Developer Mark Uhr confirmed this emphasis on meeting the needs of the team when he said, “It’s all about guiding people through their trials and tribulations and leading them down the path.”

When asked if she found it hard to be recognized for her 50 years of leadership in the real estate community, Phyllis Lee deliberately said, “I’ve always said that team means together each achieves more. I love helping people, and really that is all leadership is.”

This is why it is completely predictable that when featured, every single servant-leader has made a point to turn the attention back to the people around them. They give credit to the drive, ambition, vision, loyalty, and dedication of the people who have walked alongside them in their journey.

A true servant feels awkward in the limelight. It isn’t about them. It never was. It was always about the achievements of those around them; the people they felt compelled to serve and elevate in their own paths and successes.

This is the final act of leadership: to reflect credit back and to let others see into the hearts and minds of real leaders so that they too might become legendary in their service through leadership. This is what makes them legendary.

She was wiping the tears away, and it was clear she was prepared to hear what she needed to hear. Now that she had reached this point in her career and was receiving the recognition she had hoped for so long, it was time to move to the next level of leadership. She, like these legendary leaders, would engage in the final and perhaps greatest act of service in leadership. She would accept the opportunity to stand in the limelight. Not because she would take credit for herself, but because she would take the opportunity to receive recognition so that she could effortlessly mirror it back to those around her in her journey.

of leadership they’ve demonstrated, the emphasis was always on those they lead.