I’m a driven leader. It’s a blessing and a curse. Why? Because when you’re not actually in leadership, you tend to rub people the wrong way. it’s something I’ve been working on. But the flip side is true too. We don’t need more team members passively sitting back, waiting for their opportunity to take over. Confusion breeds inactivity, so a leader who isn’t clear and concise will ultimately lead their team into a rut.
Over the next month or so, I will reference the book “Leading When You’re Not In Charge” by Clay Scroggins. In his book, Clay reveals one of the greatest leadership myths: You must be in charge if you wish to lead. This idea devastates companies worldwide because it’s inhibiting employees from taking action. According to Scroggins, “We’ve made [Leadership] this authoritative, “I’ve got to be in charge now, so shut up and sit down ’cause I’m in charge, and you better listen to me.”
We need to learn and teach our teams that leadership happens at the crossroads of authority and influence. My heart for the next few months is that we understand how to cultivate influence to lead when not in charge. The power of this tiny idea can revolutionize your workplace and even your life.
Outstanding leadership is simply making order out of chaos so we can see those things flourish. The truth is that it’s not just for leaders. I think we all, deep down, want to eradicate this world of chaos and disorder. I believe it’s wired into us. However, to lead with influence, we must also dig into who we were wired to be at our core. When you know who you truly are, you will lead a thousand times better.
I want to end with this quote by Seth Godin, my favorite marketing guru, and speaker:
“What we need to be able to find as leaders is the humility to accept the fact that people are different than us (leaders) and they have not failed when they act in a way different than we would have acted. Then we have to have the empathy to realize that someone who doesn’t know what we know, want what we want, or believe what we believe IS NOT WRONG. They are RIGHT. That if we would have grown up the way they grew up, seen what they have seen, and been treated the way they were treated, we would probably be just like them. “
Leadership is about growing, listening, and watching. When people don’t think the same as you, accept it and move on. You can learn something from every situation you are placed in.