Leadership is a tricky subject for me. These days, it feels like everyone is either a “leader” or a “leadership coach.” Every trade show, podcast, and publication is flooded with advice on developing leadership skills. But here’s the truth—leadership isn’t something you can teach.
Leadership is like addiction recovery. You can offer all the training, books, and coaching in the world, but if someone doesn’t have the internal drive to lead, it won’t stick. True leadership comes from within, not from a workshop.
What actually makes someone a leader? Webster defines a leader as someone with “commanding authority or influence” and leadership as “the capacity to mold individuals into a team.” But ask yourself—does commanding influence really make your business better? Does building a team automatically improve your bottom line? The answer isn’t as clear-cut as most leadership trainers would like you to believe.
The problem is that we’ve turned “leader” into an overused buzzword. Every business says they want a “strong leader,” but what they actually need is a strong manager.
Do You Need a Leader or a Manager?
Leaders are seen as visionaries and inspiring, while managers get stuck with labels like “rigid” and “boring.” But let’s look at the facts. Webster defines a manager as someone responsible for controlling or administering all or part of a company. So, ask yourself—do you want someone skilled at influence and team building or someone who can actually run your business effectively?
Some might argue that you can’t be a good manager without being a good leader. I’m not so sure. You could have an amazing employee who keeps things on schedule, ensures company policies are followed, holds the team accountable, and consistently posts record profits. But if they fail to motivate or inspire, struggle to handle conflict, and treat employees like numbers instead of people, are they a leader? No. They’re a highly effective manager, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
On the flip side, you can have a leader who inspires, motivates, and builds strong relationships—but if they lack the operational skills to execute a plan, they’ll overcommit, underdeliver, and create chaos.
How to Identify Leaders Early
As an industry, we need to do a better job of identifying leadership characteristics early. When I interview someone, I do so with the expectation that one day, they may advance into a management role. Promoting from within is not only more cost-effective but also helps maintain company culture and continuity. If you’re still relying on outdated interview questions or basing decisions solely on a resume without digging deeper to understand whether a candidate’s values align with yours, you’re setting yourself up for failure. We should be more intentional about recognizing strengths and weaknesses early so we can provide the right support to help employees develop into future leaders.
Promoting a natural leader isn’t the finish line—it’s just the beginning. The transition from peer to manager is one of the hardest they’ll ever face. Yesterday, they were just part of the team, joking about the struggles and celebrating the wins. Today, they’re the one handing out discipline and holding others accountable. That shift is brutal, and if you don’t support them, they’ll fail.
To set them up for success, define clear expectations and success metrics so they can self-assess their performance. Give them data-driven management tools to navigate tough conversations objectively. Stand by them and make sure the team knows you have their back when enforcing company policies.
Leadership training isn’t the answer—better leadership identification is. As an industry, we need to stop forcing leadership training on people who don’t have the desire or traits. Instead, we should focus on identifying real leaders early, supporting them through the transition, and training them to be great managers.
You can take every leadership course in the world, read every book on the subject, and still not be a good leader. Training exposes people to ideas, but without genuine internal motivation, leadership will never be authentic.
Let’s stop trying to teach leadership to those who don’t have it—and start recognizing it in those who do.
Jason Gilstrap
Jason has over 25 years of experience in construction and restoration. He started out pushing a broom and swinging a hammer in high school, eventually growing to hold more advanced roles in the field. He has been involved in project management for 25,000+ square foot custom homes, multifamily developments, and commercial construction. He eventually accepted the challenge of starting his own business and self-performing general construction projects. In 2008, Jason began working in restoration as an independent contractor, working with restoration companies as a traveling large loss project manager before becoming part of a national catastrophe team that responded to natural disasters nationwide. Jason currently serves as the Senior VP of Operations at CORE, where he works to support CORE members by helping them develop new growth strategies, champion employee development, and discover lost efficiency.
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