If you’ve attended any of my conferences or seminars, then you have probably heard me state
“You don’t need a title or a team to be a leader.” & “You lead by the way you show up every day.”
One of the biggest misconceptions about leadership is that you need people that follow you in order to do it. While it’s true that many exceptional leaders have led organizations and teams and those people do tend to follow them, that’s not always the case when it comes to leading. What if you don’t have a team? What if you are an individual contributor, solo entrepreneur, or run a small business of only one?
If being a leader requires having people that follow you, then what are we to make of all these others that have created success in their businesses and in their lives? How do we account for them? What if you are new to an organization and asked to be part of a larger team in which no one reports to you at all?
The proof of this came to light during the pandemic. Many people with big titles and large teams failed to lead and instead went and hid behind their titles. As a result, their organizations struggled to stay afloat, and their teams suffered. On the contrary there were millions of people with no title and no teams that showed up for their organizations and for others in a big way.
The reality is that leading and being a leader starts every day with one person… the person that looks back at you in the mirror. How are you starting your day? What is your morning routine? What type of energy do you bring into your business and into your life? What are the experiences that you create daily for those that interact with you? As a result of those interactions do people tend to feel better or do they feel worse? Are they energized or completely drained after they interact with you? Are you even thinking about what it’s like to be on the other side of a conversation with you?
As you can see, leaders come in all shapes and sizes and leading isn’t just something that people do occasionally. Leadership can be defined by those behaviors that one consistently practices whether there are people around to follow or not. True leaders are doing the work to make those improvements and course corrections every day, even when no one is watching.
So my question for you this week- What are you doing to practice your leadership skills when no one else is around? How are you making those adjustments and Quarter Turns so that when the leadership moment arises you are up for the challenge? Where do you need to focus your energy and attention to be the leader that you aspire to become?
Remember, you don’t need a title or a team to be a leader. How are you showing up in your business, in your life, with those you care about? What are the steps you can take this week to be a leader.
Cheers to you are your success
One Quarter Turn at a Time
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