Many people have accepted the premise that effective leadership is essential for coping with challenges. This is not the case. However, the idea of the superiority of powerful leaders is rooted in deep conventions that are rarely questioned. The main reason for this is the spread of leaderism, an ideology built on the notions that a leader can guide almost anything for the benefit of the many and that leadership is thus more important for an organization’s success than people, culture, and external factors. These notions are entertained by a global leadership industry that makes its money from uncritically promoting the idea of the importance of leaders, as well as selling leadership services, tools, education courses, and training programs to leaders. The opposite idea—that leaders do not provide as much value as the hype suggests—requires more attention on behalf of researchers and practitioners. Therefore, we need to modify leadership and orient it toward reality. Only after this has been done will leaders provide real value to society and the organizations they are supposed to serve.