Time for a riddle:
What’s the difference between someone who is a leader and someone who is in charge?
Leader = one who glues a team together and gets things done
Bureaucrat = one who is titled and officially in charge
Can this be the same person? Sure. Is it always? (That’s not a riddle.) If you don’t have a managerial title, how can you tell if you’re a leader?
Leadership is simply influence and everyone has it. You probably lead something or someone whether or not you recognize it as leadership. To find out, ask yourself these 10 questions.
1. Do I live in the future?
If you look two weeks down the road, plan two steps ahead, or see what currently exists and how it could be used to create something that doesn’t yet exist, you may be a leader.
2. Do I look at current processes and imagine how they could be improved?
When a coworker says, “But this is the way we’ve always done it.” If you say, “Yeah, but what if we can find a better way?” you may be a leader.
3. Do I communicate clearly?
If you can present the overview of how to achieve the project’s deliverable, as well as the steps necessary to create it, you may be a leader.
4. Do I collect people into teams?
If you identify coworkers who share your value system, solicit their opinions on your projects, invite collaboration, and facilitate partnership, you may be a leader.
5. Do I hate waste?
If you know a teammate has an underused ability that can enhance the project, and you appeal to their sense of purpose to focus it on accelerating the project, you may be a leader.
6. Do I reproduce myself?
If you teach teammates how to do what you do thereby sharing your power and encouraging them to find theirs, you may be a leader.
7. Do I connect people?
If you meet someone at a networking event and immediately think, “How can I help this person achieve her goals?” you may be a leader.
8. Do I eliminate obstacles?
If you know what action to take to keep the project moving toward completion and do it, if you ask for forgiveness instead of seeking approval, or if you think any decision is better than no decision, you may be a leader.
9. Do I make wise choices?
If you filter decisions through your company’s mission statement, you may be a leader.
10. Do I think more about others than about me?
If your main concern is advancing the project, even if it means a coworker will outshine you, you may be a leader.
The bureaucrat has the fancy title and big salary because he is held responsible for the team’s success. The leader has influence to achieve that success. If that person is not one and the same in your workplace, follow the leader.
Do you have managers in your office who aren’t leaders? Do you have managers in your office who are leaders? Please share your observations in the comments section.
Leadership is a gift. You have certainly asked the appropriate questions & made me, as a leader ponder them. Thanks