What Passes for Leadership?
What passes for a leader in your experience? I’ve seen all kinds of leaders based on a variety of criteria:
- Talks the loudest
- Spent the most time in school, has the most letters after their name to prove it
- Operates on The Golden Rule of Business: “He who has the gold, makes the rulesâ€
- Is the most popular, has the most friends in high places
- Holds the leader’s title, The Boss
Being The Leader, however, doesn’t automatically mean having a handle on effective leadership. Being the leader means you’re at the top of the pyramid or leading the charge. In some way, the buck stops with you. Leadership, on the other hand, is the ability to motivate others to action in supporting a vision/goal and takes many forms.
You can be The Leader without providing effective leadership, and conversely, you don’t have to be The Leader to provide leadership. Leadership can come from any level within a team, not just the top. It even happens in organizations with flat organizational structures.
There is someone on every team who provides leadership either directly or indirectly. In one firm I worked at many years ago it was the managing partner’s secretary. She was the go-to-gal on matters big and small. She not only had the history and experience to make decisions, she had the ear of the managing partner who trusted her and her perspective. You had to get by her before you could get in front of him. Even if you a senior partner in the firm!
I also remember a junior whose position was technically higher on the org chart than the support staff, but he got nowhere because he had no actual leadership skills and was unable to motivate or influence, even with people who were supposed to listen to him! He was continually undermined and got nowhere.
Look around the organizations and teams you’re involved with. Is the person at the head of the table the one providing leadership? Or is it the quiet but rock solid individual off to the side, whose opinion is always consulted before decisions are finalized?
“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”
- Dwight Eisenhower
Remember, you can practice leadership right now, no matter what role you have or role you aspire to. Develop and practice healthy leadership – motivate, don’t boss.
Leave a Comment
