Leadership takes courage, not a title. Dare to step up and "do right."

Today is Presidents’ Day, and if there’s one thing we can count on, it’s that people will be talking about the President. And not all of it will be positive.

Let's be clear, whatever side of politics you sit on, it will always be easy to find fault with those in charge if we’re looking for it—there’s no shortage of criticism about what should be done differently.

But when it comes to creating better leadership, the first person we need to focus on is ourselves.

In The Courage Gap, I share how we can each close the gap between what we do and what we could do—not just in our own lives, but in shaping the world around us. Too often, we hold back, waiting for someone else to step up, someone else to make the change, someone else to st the course or take the risk. But leadership isn’t about waiting. It’s about choosing to act, even when it feels uncomfortable or uncertain.

The truth is, the biggest way we give away our power is believing we don’t have any. Research from MIT Sloane found that belief in our ability to create meaningful change is at an all-time low globally creating a crisis in personal agency. Yet every time we allow our fear and false perception of ourselves to keep us playing small, we not only grow less and less confident in ourselves but we become complicit in the very problems we complain about. When fear governs our decisions, we don’t just stay stuck but we reduce our influence and short change our future.

As i wrote in The Courage Gap,

"Creating a better world requires creating a braver world. And creating a braver world starts with each of us stepping up to the leadership plate—into the gap between what we're doing and what we’re capable of doing to foster a better future."

This isn’t about everyone thinking alike. It’s about each of us bringing our best thinking and boldest action to the challenges that matter.

Sure, holding positional power with the ability to access resources, make big decisions and hire and fire amplifies one's influence. But you don't need to hold a position of formal power or a leadership title to be a force for positive change. Because leadership isn’t about a position of status—it’s about owning our agency, doubling down on what lays within our control and daring to do our part to make things better. To quote one of the greatest US Presidents in history:

"It often requires more courage to dare to do right than to fear to do wrong." - Abraham Lincoln

So today, ask yourself:

Where do I need to step up to the leadership plate more boldly?

The world doesn’t just need more leaders at the top—it needs more of us leading where we are, with the courage to make the difference our difference makes.

I hope you'll be one of those leaders.

Margie Warrell is a leadership advisor, keynote speaker and bestselling author focused on empowering braver leadership for a better world. More at www.MargieWarrell.com