We've heard and read respected sources reflect that service is the core of leadership. I spent time with a CEO recently, talking with her about her multifaceted business and how it has grown over the years, now being positioned to double in size over the next 12-18 months. One of the things she said during our discussion as she described the various tasks that lie ahead that need to be carefully crafted and skillfully implemented was, "This work is a calling...it's all about service."

I went away from our meeting with that sentence reverberating inside me, and as I contemplated it, I wondered if there was an element of truth in that sentence for all leaders—at least the leaders whom I've had the honor and pleasure of working with over the last decade. So, I decided to ask several of them if they felt service played a role in their leadership and how the relationship between service and leadership intersected. I received volumes of information from the dozen or so leaders I interviewed, and what follows are the gems of their beliefs and insights and a profound look at the various ways in which service integrates into the core of leadership.

What 'Service at the core of leadership' means to you...

All participants spoke of 'serving their staff,' though each had a unique way of expressing it:

• I commit myself to keeping my people on an even keel

• I make sure people have the money and other resources to do their job well

• I act as a buffer or 'internal flack jacket' so people can do whatever it takes to succeed

• I serve better if I remember to be a 'model' for doing things right, rather than harp away at the mechanics of 'how to'

Not surprisingly, every leader said their greatest rewards were linked to seeing their staff succeed. Specific ways of expressing this included:

• celebrating individual successes publicly, efficiently, and in ways that involve everyone

• being able to point people in the right direction...mentoring them towards success

• seeing a great team of people work well together...choosing people for the team that I feel will work well together...then watching them pull it off

• supporting someone through the ranks and watching them surpass you...I like being a part of developing someone, then letting them go on to become a stellar leader

• getting teams to work together...trust each other...come to mutual understanding

Every leader admitted to challenges, and as a mark of quality leadership, they offered thoughts about facing their challenges head on and practicing solutions:

• When we didn't have enough money to get bank funding, we recognized our clients were our sole source of income...we treated them like royalty...every birthday, anniversary, you name it, we were there for them...reciprocally, we were first on their list for payment

• Rendering consequences for people's choices...I remind myself, as tough as it is, I'm serving my staff when I reflect their bad choices and push them to be accountable

• Having myriads of different things that need to be done and not enough resources to complete them all well. We need to individually and collectively make the right decisions about where to spend time...I'd rather have a few projects executed at 100% than all of them at only 60%

• Coming after a leader who didn't practice any service...having to deal with the bad imprint about how leaders operate...made it harder to get my philosophy of care and relationship-building across to my staff. I'm willing to let people call me soft...I hold to my values of believing in people

This complex question showed the greatest variation among leaders, and yet common themes are evident:

"It's my job to be visible with community service...it gives me the opportunity to acknowledge other leaders in the community."

"I've been delivering classroom demonstrations since my kids were little...then it grew into creating a program with other professionals that we'd deliver every year over 4 consecutive days...that program is still going strong."

"In every arena, it's all about effective communication—making it a two-way street with staff; keeping clients in the loop and problem-solving with them when plans evolve; aligning with professional societies and foundations in the community where our work links with theirs—there's great encouragement in that."

"With staff, it's about being there when they really need you and being effective in those moments. With clients, it's being honest enough to let them go when there's no longer a fit...nothing worse than hanging on to someone well beyond when it serves them. In the community, I believe if one is going to serve as a board member or an affiliate, it has to be done with true dedication without wanting anything in return. If it's about 'generating business,' it's not true service."

"Providing staff with context...borrowing best practices and efficiencies and sharing them with managers. If I'm a sounding board for new ideas, people feel good knowing they are part of impacting the growth of the company."

Although differences abound among the leaders I interviewed, one thing seems true, this role of leadership is indeed a calling...one that demands great consideration and offers silent rewards experienced quite humbly by each thoughtful leader. It's clear from their evocative comments that leadership is not developed in a vacuum, rather, it is shaped in every interaction, intimately entwined with the people encountered and touched every day.