Are You A Leader?

As leaders, I trust that you’ve had a productive week. Hence, there is the answer to the topic question. Read on to find out why and to what degree you naturally fall into the category of leader. Your own personal awareness (which includes self reflection and information from others) is what matters most.

Well, now it’s time for us to get started on our ever so important journey together. Let’s start by breaking down the definition for manager and leader relative to our 21st century Leadership 2.1 usage.The age old debate as to whether or not leaders are born or made has grown quite trite, in my opinion. So, today we will challenge ourselves to move beyond the basic discussion and add a new point for consideration.

First, all leaders are born. Second, any human being who has the ability to make decisions and act on them is a leader of “self”. Thereby, if you are reading this as a matter of choice, you are a leader. You made a decision and you acted upon it. With that in mind, the ability to lead others is a matter of desire, ability (learned or natural) and scale. The desire to lead (inspire vs. command and control) others has to come from within. The degree to which you can become an effective leader of others depends on the point from which you start relative to where you want to go.

Here’s a simple way to take that first look. Create a scale from 1 to 10. Now think of someone who you feel is/was a great leader(s). What characteristic can you associate with who they are? Characteristics like, being a visionary, great communicator, highly inspiring, extremely caring, exceptionally open to the ideas of others, etc. should make your list, if these are important to you. Use adjectives or adverbs that push the definition to the limits. Repeat the process relative to the number of people great leaders lead. Perhaps on the lower end of the scale would be “self”. From there identify the points of connection like home, neighbor, community, school, work, city, state, nation, world, etc. Use this information to help you define where you are relative to where you’d like to be. And then combine your passion with your ability to act and close the gap. Closing the gap means learning what you need to learn and doing what you need to do. There is no other way. Remember you are a leader!

21st century challenge: The term manager and leader are, to this day, used to represent a position within the organization, amongst other things. Those at the frontline level are considered managers and those at the director level or above are considered leaders. However; those of us on the frontline know that not everyone who occupies a position of authority is a leader. Going forward, it may be beneficial for us to strongly consider who of the two should be responsible for what (people or things). If inspiring others is important, if allowing others to be more innovative and collaborative is important then we should find ways to make sure people have access to leaders, even if she/he is not their direct report. And assign those who excel at “command and control” to roles like project management or financial controllers, etc. Of course, there are some who have the ability to do both. But, in the event this is not the case in your home, group, or organization then leverage the skills of those around you and share (not split) the responsibility. Great leaders recognize, appreciate and leverage the skills, talents and passions of others. And in my humble opinion, I believe there is a positive correlation between passion, creativity and innovation. To what degree is yet to be determined.

Perhaps we should drop the name manager (with the exception of project manager, resource manager, financial controller, etc.) and give everyone something greater to live up to. If we place people in positions of authority and inform them that their primary job is to “manage” others then who’s to blame when they oblige. Let’s face it, they were never asked nor taught in b-schools to “inspire”. Heck, words like inspire, and passion, on a large scale, have yet to become part of the corporate lingo.

Sidebar: Without conducting some lengthy test to determine if your department representatives have a command and control style or an inspiring leader style conduct this simple assessment; over the next several weeks gage your interaction with them. If you feel de-energized after your encounter on a regular basis she/he is either having a really bad week, month, or they are more inclined to use “command and control” to keep things running. However, if you feel energized or as if there is hope even in the face of adversity, then you’re probably working for a leader. Find out what inspires them about their job; what are they passionate about and use this information to help you discover your passion.

I’d like to encourage you to become a better leader, first of “self” and then of those around you. Take time each week to assess, reflect, develop and grow into the greatest leader you can be.

I’m looking forward to collaborating with you as I believe in the wisdom of crowds. So, please take time to share your thoughts. New perspectives are always good.