Lead Better With These 7 L’s of Leadership in 2026

“Earn your leadership every day”

Michael Jordan

Leadership is a daily task and not an entitlement. A leader must earn his position every single day. Leadership is waking up every day to face what is to come, before it arrives. It is a constant effort and dedication.

But is that what makes a good leader? Well, yes and no. It is part of what makes leaders great. The study of leadership is quite vast, and you will have to spend your entire life learning what it is. Leadership must change with time. 

Then, how can one become a good leader? We have many ways to be a good leader, but today we will classify them into 7 Ls. These 7 l’s of leadership are a blueprint for leaders who drive success, not stress; a roadmap to become a great leader and a visionary.

So, here are the seven l’s of leadership that distinguish a visionary from a manager.

Breaking down the 7 L’s of Leadership for Modern Organizational Success

The seven l’s of leadership are a framework outlined by the Mandt System. The goal is to create a formula for successful and effective leadership across all organizations, especially in high-stress situations. 

This model defines seven essential leadership practices starting with “L”: Look, Listen, Learn, Labor, Love, Lift, and Leverage. 

Leaders apply these to build trust, foster collaboration, and drive results.

So, we will go through each of the 7 L’s of leadership and understand how to apply them to your leadership style.

The 7 L’s Defined

• Look: Scan the environment, anticipate challenges, and focus on people and goals ahead.
• Listen: Actively hear feedback without judgment, using techniques like Management by Walking Around.
• Learn: Commit to continuous personal growth as a lifelong learner and reader.
• Labor: Work alongside the team, leading by example and staying until tasks are done.
• Love: Show genuine care and respect for team members’ well-being and contributions.
• Lift: Empower and develop others, recognizing their efforts to build capability.
• Leverage: Use strengths, relationships, and resources strategically for collective success.

L 1: Look

The first L of the 7 L’s of leadership is a four-letter word: Look. To look means to observe. A good leader is a great observer. It is someone who notices the team’s needs, necessities, and flaws. When a leader looks, they see the obstacles that aren’t yet a threat. It helps create an environment ready for all challenges.

Leaders actively observe their environment, anticipate risks, and align vision with team needs. They lift eyes from tasks to scan people, progress, and future challenges, fostering proactive decision-making over reactive fixes.

Example:

Winston Churchill exemplified this during World War II by vigilantly monitoring Axis movements and rallying Britain with forward-looking speeches, including the famous “We shall fight on the beaches,” which prepared the nation for prolonged conflict.

Implementation Steps:

1. Schedule daily 15-minute walks to observe team dynamics.
2. Review key metrics and feedback weekly.
3. Ask “What risks lie ahead?” in team huddles.

L2: Listen

Woodrow Wilson once said, “The ear of the leader must ring with the voices of the people.” Listening is a necessary skill for every leader. Every great leader must listen, but don’t listen to answer, but to understand. Because, as Stephen R. Covey said, “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”

The difference between an average person and a great leader is their intent when listening. Effective leaders practice non-judgmental listening, often via Management by Walking around (MBWA). They ask open questions, absorb verbal and nonverbal cues, and validate input to build rapport and uncover unfiltered insights.

Example:

Abraham Lincoln roamed White House grounds and battlefields. He would spend his time listening to soldiers and citizens alike during the Civil War, which informed his empathetic policies such as the Emancipation Proclamation.

Implementation Steps:

1. Dedicate 10 minutes daily to unstructured chats with team members.
2. Practice reflective listening: paraphrase what you hear before responding.
3. Log feedback weekly and follow up on actioned items.

L3: Learn

Always remember, an excellent learner is an exceptional leader. He who masters learning, understands teaching, and he who understands teaching, knows how to lead. A leader isn’t the one on top; it is the one ahead. And that is the main difference between a leader and a boss. You can teach a leader, but you can only answer a boss.

Leaders commit to lifelong learning as readers and adapters. They study diverse sources, reflect on experiences, and evolve skills, recognizing that all leaders are first learners to stay relevant amid change.

Example:

Theodore Roosevelt devoured over 1,000 books annually while president. He would apply insights from history and science to progressive reforms such as trust-busting. He is one of the most learned US presidents of his time.

Implementation Steps:

1. Read one leadership book or article daily for 20 minutes.
2. Maintain a learning journal to note key takeaways and applications.
3. Seek quarterly feedback from mentors or peers on growth areas.

Read more:

• 10 Effective Leadership Styles in Management Every Leader Should Know
• Chaos Isn’t a Bad Thing (and 9 Other Important Leadership Qualities)

L4: Labor

Labor as a leader is much more than working. It is to lead by example. As one of the 7 L’s of leadership, labor isn’t just simple work; instead, it is a way of showing the team that you are part of their work efforts. You are not managing them, you are leading them. 

A 2021 study on shared leadership in 26 Chinese engineering design teams/119 participants found that shared leadership positively correlates with team effectiveness (β = 0.53, p < 0.05). The effect was seen in various parts, including task performance (r = 0.52, p < 0.01) and viability (r = 0.43, p < 0.05). Leaders participating hands-on fostered engagement and cohesion.

Example:

George Washington would shovel trenches with soldiers at Valley Forge in 1777-78. He endured hardships to boost the morale of his men during the Revolutionary War’s brutal winter. And as we know, his army won, and he became the first US president.

Implementation Steps:

1. Join team tasks weekly, like a shift or project sprint.
2. Set personal work hours matching peak team efforts.
3. Celebrate collective wins publicly, crediting group labor.

L5: Love

Love means genuinely caring for every single person in your team. A leader humanizes the team, understands their struggle, values their work, and appreciates their presence. Every single person matters; their feelings, stress, worries, and victories matter to you.

Leaders express authentic respect and concern for individuals’ well-being, beyond productivity. Love is an emotional investment. Through appreciation and support, it cultivates trust, motivation, and retention in high-stress settings.

Example:

Nelson Mandela visited his prison guards after the end of apartheid. He showed forgiveness and care, which disarmed opposition. In the end, we remember Mandela for unifying South Africa during its transition.

Implementation Steps:

1. Send personalized thank-you notes weekly for specific contributions.
2. Check in on personal well-being during one-on-ones.
3. Organize team appreciation events quarterly.

L6: Lift

Leaders elevate teams by delegating meaningfully, providing growth opportunities, and recognizing achievements. They build capability through coaching and praise, shifting focus from self to collective potential for sustained success. And most importantly, a leader who lifts is the one who creates new leaders.

A leader is the one who is in charge of pushing everyone forward. Empowering practices outperform traditional leadership. They improve organizational outcomes, such as customer service quality, with potency, meaningfulness, autonomy, and impact.

Example:

Mahatma Gandhi mentored independence leaders such as Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He delegated Satyagraha campaigns, which amplified India’s nonviolent freedom struggle. And finally, his efforts made India a free nation today.

Implementation Steps:

1. Assign stretch projects with clear support weekly.
2. Give specific public praise in meetings.
3. Conduct skill-building workshops monthly.

L7: Leverage

And the 7th L of the 7 L’s of leadership: Leverage. You know your team’s talent, their weakness, and their pros. Now your job is to leverage them for the greater good. To define it, leveraging means to amplify strengths while reducing weaknesses. 

Leaders strategically deploy the talents, relationships, and resources of their team to an outsized impact. They connect dots, matching skills to needs and forging alliances. Doing this helps to multiply effectiveness without overextending it.

Example:

Queen Elizabeth I leveraged the skills of her advisors, such as Walsingham’s spy network and Drake’s naval prowess, to defeat the Spanish Armada in 1588. Her identifying and deploying skills led to England’s victory.

Implementation Steps:

1. Map team strengths to tasks in planning sessions.
2. Build cross-team alliances via introductions weekly.
3. Review resource allocation biweekly for optimal use.

The 7 L’s of leadership at Work: Scenarios, Actions, and Business Results

The seven l’s of Leadership framework of Mandt System applies across modern workplaces, crises, and projects. They enhance trust, productivity, and resilience by aligning leader actions with team realities.

Here are seven scenarios and how the L’s help in them:

As you can see, the 7 L’s of leadership help you overcome every obstacle in your team’s workflow.

Conclusion:

To conclude, the 7 L’s of leadership teach us the foundation of being a great leader. You need to love, learn, and lift others. But in all this, never forget the greatest quality of a great leader: Integrity. As Eisenhower had said, “The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible.”

And the 7 l’s of leadership are foundational for integrity. To have integrity, you must have the 7 l’s mentioned above. So, look, lift, learn, listen, love, labor, and finally leverage the 7 L’s to become a great exemplary leader of your team.

Don’t Miss:

• The Impact of Different Types of Leadership and Management Styles on Teams
• 10 Advantages of Autocratic Leadership You Need to Know
• The Essential Qualities of a Good Leader: A Blueprint for Success

FAQs

1. Can leadership skills be learned, or are they innate?

While some people have natural charisma, leadership is primarily a developed skill. Through experience, mentorship, and self-reflection, anyone can learn to communicate effectively, build trust, and make strategic decisions that inspire others.

2. How do I lead a team through significant change?

Communicate transparently about the “why” behind the change. Listen to concerns, provide necessary resources, and model the adaptability you expect. Consistency and empathy are vital to maintaining morale during periods of high uncertainty.

3. What is the difference between a leader and a manager?

Managers focus on processes, systems, and maintaining the status quo. Leaders focus on people, innovation, and inspiring a shared vision for the future. Management is about execution; leadership is about influence and direction.