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.
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.
Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT
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