Most people who chase leadership roles are looking for a spotlight, not a responsibility. They want the LinkedIn title bump, the podcast invites, and maybe their headshot on the "About Us" page with the words "visionary" or "transformational" next to it. But leadership is not about stardom — it's about stewardship. Your job is not to be adored; it's to carry the weight, set the structure, and protect the people doing the work from the chaos you're probably causing.
What Stewardship Looks Like
- Carry the Burden, Don't Broadcast It
Stewardship means you absorb complexity, pressure, and organizational nonsense so your people don't have to. Your team shouldn't be burning cycles deciphering OKR word salads or shielding themselves from executive whiplash. That's your job. - Reliability Over Charisma
Stardom is about charm. Stewardship is about showing up. A steward leader delivers consistency even when the world is on fire. They don't need a standing ovation at all-hands; they need their team to say, "I know what's expected, and I trust they'll back me when things go sideways." - Protect the Work, Not Your Ego
A steward fights for resources, shields against pointless interruptions, and clears blockers. A star soaks up credit, makes themselves the story, and spends more time talking about "impact" than defining concrete outcomes.
Example: The Startup Founder vs. the Steward Leader
At a VC-backed startup, the founder decides to "motivate" the team by holding an all-hands to hype the next big feature. Slides are full of market opportunity charts, vague promises about "10x growth," and a reminder that everyone needs to "own the outcome." Translation: work weekends. That's stardom leadership — performative, hollow, and toxic.
Now contrast that with a steward leader at the same startup. Instead of hype, they sit down with the product and engineering leads and nail down a contracted commitment: "Launch Feature X by May 15, with criteria A, B, and C complete." They handle the investor expectations, deflect scope creep from sales, and make sure the team isn't working blind. No theatrics. Just stewardship.
Why the Traditional Model Fails
- OKRs and KPIs: Popularized as "alignment tools," but often weaponized into quarterly theater. Leaders chase vanity metrics to look good upstairs, while the work beneath gets distorted to fit the narrative.
- Charisma as Currency: Too many leaders confuse being liked with being effective. A smooth all-hands doesn't ship code, doesn't stabilize infrastructure, and doesn't fix organizational rot.
- Hero Worship: Companies that build their leadership culture around "visionaries" end up fragile. When the star leaves or falters, the whole system collapses. Stewardship builds resilience; stardom breeds dependency.
Takeaway: Leadership is not a stage performance. It's operational stewardship: ensuring clarity, carrying weight, and creating an environment where outcomes — not optics — drive everything. Stars fade. Stewards last.
