When leadership is about making things better it’s inclusive not exclusive; functional not positional.
Everyone who asks, “How can I help us make things better?” is on a leadership journey regardless of position.
Three essentials:
Everyone leads when they believe in their own voice, embrace a vision, and exercise change-making-skills and strategies. Voice without vision – clear direction – dilutes life to meaningless chatter. Vision apart from change-making-skills frustrates and paralyzes.
Successful leaders:
- Reignite everyone’s innate desire to matter.
- Affirm the voice of others.
- Provide direction by clarifying vision.
- Develop everyone’s change-making talents and skills.
Leaders ask others:
- How do you want to matter?
- How does your voice align with organizational vision?
- Where do you fit in?
- What skills magnify your voice?
- What skills enable you to create communities — teams — who embrace dreams bigger than themselves?
- The first time someone asks, “How can I help us make things better?” is the day a leader is born. But, beware, baby leaders die quickly. They need encouragement, vision, and tools.
Matter more:
“What can “I” do?” is good but too small. The question is, “What can we do?”
The difference is doing things “for” or doing things “with.”
Individual contributors always matter. Those who create and participate in communities dedicated to making things better matter more.
First steps for functional leaders:
- Once you find your own voice help others find theirs.
- Connect with people who want to make the world better in ways that fuel your passion.
- Learn skills that enable you and your community make a difference, communication, planning, and goal setting, for example.
Everyone can be a leader even if they don’t have a title or position. It begins by asking, “How can I help us make things better?”
