It’s easy to think about leadership from a perspective of ego - we use lots of language like “rise”, “top”, “achieve” etc. This shows up in organizational leadership certainly, but it also appears in other kinds of leadership - being in a conversation, working with a team on a technical design, etc. It’s very easy to get your ego involved with an idea, or with your status or title, and it’s easy to see this as a natural part of leadership.
But there’s a different approach to leadership, sometimes referred to as “service leadership”, that’s much more effective. One way to put yourself in this mindset is to think about org charts. We usually talk about a single person being at the “top” of the org chart - seems good and exalted, and something you’d strive for. But think about an “inverted” org chart for a minute - where the leader is the bottom, and the people who do all the work are at the top.
This framing shows that the real purpose of the leader is to support the team. If you have this mindset, then making your organization doesn’t feel like some egotistical achievement - the pyramid is taller! - but more like an increase obligation to the larger team you now have to support.
There are many other facets of leadership that are more effectively viewed through the prism of humility and service. Another which we’ve talked about is the “primadonna deathspiral” that comes from poor tradeoffs between long and short term team needs - and these tradeoffs are usually rooted in a sense of ego and importance, not service, of the “primadonna”. Delegation, and trust are a form of anti-ego and humility, and they make teams and leaders much more effective if done well.
So…lead, for sure, but try to do it from a position of humility. It’s about service, not about being elevated.