The following two points are not mutually exclusive, even though some people want to argue that they are:

• An organization can be great because of great leadership.
• An organization can be great because it is a great organization.

If you look closely at a successful organization (and hopefully yours is one of them!), they can be led by great leaders, and they can develop great leaders. The ability to determine where leadership stops and the organization takes over can be a very fine line, and a chicken-and-egg type of argument.

A great leader does not make a great organization by operating independently of their team. Successful, enduring, and leading organizations are not led by one individual. They are led by people who have the talent and expertise to move the organization ahead. There may be one individual who is responsible for making a final decision on a difficult issue, but the day-to-day management is shared between leaders and critical staff at many levels.