Can Anyone Be a Leader? (The answer may surprise you).

The answer to the question depends largely on how you define leadership.

What Leadership Is

Merriam-Webster, the popular online dictionary, provides us with two possible definitions, one only a little more useful than the other:

— The state or position of being a leader
(well, duh); and/or

— The action of leading a group of people or an organization

A simple web search yields equally unhelpful generalizations about leaders and leadership, even from some of the more revered practitioners of the leadership arts:

— ‘someone who has followers’ – Peter Drucker (a personal hero of mine)
— ‘someone who has influence’ – John Maxwell
— ‘those who empower others’ – Bill Gates
— ‘the capacity to translate vision into reality’--Warren Bennis

All very broad. And frankly unhelpful.

Here’s my take – one which I’ve honed from 25 years of working with formal and informal leaders at every level and from engaging in occasional acts of leadership myself.

Leadership is helping any group of two or more people achieve their common goals.

Not very complicated, I admit, but it’s a robust definition and one based on real world experience.

Let’s break it down a little and consider the implications of defining leadership this way.

Leadership shows up in groups or teams
It’s a given that leadership implies follower-ship (you aren’t leading if no one follows). So leadership isn’t a self- contained, individual act – it only has validity when others are involved.

Those groups or teams can be very small
At a minimum, you need only be one of a ‘group’ of two people to lead. Leadership, therefore, happens not just in large organizations, but also in the smallest of groups: in relationships, with friends, even in what may seem like the most informal and transient of water-cooler interactions.

Leadership can happen in an instant
While many acts of leadership are the result of considerable thought and planning, there’s no knowing when an act of leadership can or will occur. If you’re with one other person (or five, or 20, or 1,000) and you do or say something that helps that group move closer to a common goal, that’s an act of leadership. A spur-of-the- moment decision made on the fly stands equally as an act of leadership with an agonizing decision made only after sleepless nights and much soul-searching.

Leadership isn’t a permanent state
In a group or team, I might do something that is an act of leadership in one moment, and you might follow it with another. Joan over there might contribute another act of leadership later on. It’s important to see that even when a group or team has formally designated ‘leaders’ (a project management team, say, or an executive board), those ‘recognized’ leaders don’t have a monopoly over acts of leadership. In fact, the mindset that only formally accepted leaders can or should lead – is highly dysfunctional and produces poor-quality teams.)

Leadership happens both formally and informally 
Leadership doesn’t only occur in formal situations like board meetings, on the sports field or in a war room. Groups of two or more people can coalesce in an instant around short- or medium-term objectives. Showing leadership is equally possible whether you’re at a three- day strategic retreat fighting for the survival of your business, or chatting in the cafeteria with a colleague about how to ship a sample product to South Korea.

In my experience, anyone can be a leader. It doesn’t require at title. It’s a way of being. It’s about inspiring all of those around you to realize their gifts for personal greatness. It’s about taking responsibility for every dimension of your life (Versus blaming others for what’s not working). It’s about devoting yourself to excellence in every pursuit and making things better---not matter how good they already are.

Leadership is also about connecting to people. Deeply. Genuinely. Passionately. Because business and life are really all about people.

Any person who wants to lead—and live—a remarkable life can. Teachers can lead. Entrepreneurs can lead. Artists can lead. Students can lead. As Mark Twain once wrote, "if everybody was satisfied with himself there would be no heroes.”

If you'd like to learn about developing a shared leadership approach in your team or organization consider enrolling in our "Sharing Leadership" program where participants will learn to:

• Identify shared leadership behaviors for their team(s).
• Exercise their own unique leadership.
• Make plans for further sharing their leadership, and expanding your own repertoire of leader behaviors.

The amazing benefits of developing leaders at every level in a company is highlighted in our blog post entitled: Leveraging the Power of Leader's Math to Multiply Results

Also, check out an article by Reid Hoffman: How to Find and Engage Authentic Informal Leaders. AIL's can be a powerful lever for your culture strengthening initiative.

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant

SMART DEVELOPMENT

Take the Next Step... 

Interested in learning how to develop your organization's culture, employee engagement and leadership capability? We begin with a collaborative discovery process identifying your unique needs and business issues. To request an interview with Peter Mclees please contact: 

Email: petercmclees@gmail.com  or  Mobile:323-854-1713

Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping service providers, ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, financial services, real estate services, call centers, nonprofits, government agencies and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth. 

Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.