What is a Leader? (and why are you not addressing me as one?)

What is a Leader? (and why are you not addressing me as one?)

When we refer to a people as leaders simply because of the title or rank they hold, and infer that the others who don’t hold the same titles or ranks are not leaders, we’re neglecting to associate the concept of leadership with the relevant behaviors and skills that any individual person may display. I'm bothered when I see Leadership described as either a trait or a responsibility available to just a specific subset of people. Most often?I see Leadership used as a proxy for people leadership?or people?management. “Reminder of today’s meeting of the leaders of the organization."

?To me, individual?leadership is not only real, but it is crucial for an organization.?Crucial to practice, acknowledge, encourage, and reward. Most of us start here, at the individual contributor level.

?So, how can individual?contributors display leadership?traits, or more simply, how can individual contributors be leaders? In many ways!

• be proactive;
• be creative;
• help motivate others – by expressing passion about a topic or project, and by explaining your perspectives clearly, you can get others excited about the topic or project, organically;
• help others – lend a hand when they're struggling with something. And when you receive help from someone, heed the phrase, "learn one, teach one;" pass it on, if you've been helped, work hard to return the favor by helping others;
• work hard and be positive – this may sound mundane, obvious. But if you fail to demonstrate these traits, you not only likely disqualify yourself from being acknowledged as a leader but also as a contributing team member.

?Traditionally recognized leaders have a role to play to foster an environment supportive of individual leadership. This is for the benefit of the organization, as well as for the career development of the employees.?Point out examples of individual leadership; by acknowledging?them in both 1-on-1 and in team settings, you are encouraging the behaviors and providing good examples to everyone.

?A couple of things to keep in mind here. First, being communicative is difficult for some people by nature.?These folks may show leadership in other ways, and these people may need encouragement to take steps forward in ‘outgoingness.’ Being a Type-A personality does not equate to being a leader, nor does the opposite logic apply (non-Type-A does not equate to non-leader).

?In addition, being proactive and creative can be risky.?Some ideas fail.?Many organizations do (and should!) encourage "failing fast," and appreciate what can be learned from such experiences. Acknowledge and reward the ideas and the efforts, even when they don't work out in the end.?We don't want potentially great ideas to remain hidden for fear?of failure. If 6 out of 10 ideas fail, then we benefit from the delivered results of the 4, and we benefit from the learnings around the other 6.

?So, acknowledge the positives about someone who speaks up, shares a creative idea, drives it with enthusiasm, but still ends up failing. Your response to this sends a message to the mass population of potential leaders.

[author's note: these are my observations about how leadership is or should be expressed and recognized across an organization. I'm currently a so-called "people leader," helping to recognize and develop more leaders.]