In the United States, today is Memorial Day.  Today we remember those who have died in service to our country.  Today we remember heroes.  Today we remember leaders.

Why do I say we remember leaders today?  Because one of the greatest defining characteristics of any leader is willingness to sacrifice.  Leadership is hard work requiring us to lay down our pride, our agendas, our egos, and in the most extreme cases, maybe even our lives.

Reflect today, and ask yourself this question: “What am I willing to sacrifice in order to become a better leader?”  Don’t ask what you’ll give up in order to be promoted or to advance your own career.  Ask what you’ll sacrifice to be a better leader.

To become a truly great leader you should not make your own personal advancement your goal.  Becoming a great leader means sacrifice yourself for the advancement of those you lead.  Their success is your success.  Making your followers’ success a priority has a nice side-benefit:  in their eyes, you become a hero.

Today we remember those who died in service to our country.  Today we remember heroes.  Whether or not they “officially” served in positions of leadership, their sacrifices make them all leaders in my book.