Are YOU a Leader? 🫵
I was having coffee with a good friend and community partner the other day. An incredible person. One of the most enthusiastic and supportive colleagues I have ever had the pleasure to know. She is always looking for opportunities to help other people shine and thinking non-stop about how to help them work comfortably and successfully.
She was telling me about all of the great work she is doing in her business. She takes good care of her family, friends, and business partner. She is also very active in her community and local chamber of commerce, even when it annoys her and forces her to work with people she doesn’t tend to enjoy. And she is always looking for more ways to partner with other organizations and companies so that all of the communities she cares about can flourish and prosper in every possible way.
She is highly creative and takes initiative. Her energy is positive and inspiring. And she really seems to love people and their potential. After spending time with her I really feel seen, heard, understood, appreciated, and honored for exactly who I am, where I’ve been, and where my gifts will take me.
It was a wonderful coffee, full of brainstorming, strategy, and vision. I left with my spirits considerably elevated. Just before parting ways I looked at her and asked…
“Do you consider yourself to be a leader?”
I was really curious, because the answer was obvious to me, as I suspect it is to you after reading my description above.
I could tell she wasn’t expecting that question. After a few moments and said, “Well, I don’t know. Whenever I get up in front of people to talk to them I feel really uncomfortable and out of place.”
How about that? One of the strongest leaders I know, and she doesn’t think of herself that way, simply because she has inherited a highly limited concept of leadership. And I don’t blame her - it’s an image that is reinforced for many of us through considerable cultural conditioning. A leader is a strong personality, commanding the respect of a room, speaking with clarity and confidence, motivating followers into urgent action.
I wonder how many great leaders are out there, suppressing their considerable gifts and potential influence due to this highly limited notion of what leadership is.
She said “What do you think?”
I said, “Absolutely you are! Because here’s how I define leadership:
VISION → CLARITY → THINKING → COMMUNICATION → PERSUASION → AGREEMENT → ACTION”
That’s all it ever is, has been, or will be. No commanding military presence required. That works for some people, but not most of us. The leadership process happens in many ways and on many different wavelengths of energy.
It’s also the same as creation. For all these reasons and more, many phenomenal leaders don’t recognize themselves for what they are. Are you one of them? How much more influence and benevolence could they (and you) enact for their families, teams, and communities if they DID recognize that perennial pattern in their minds and behaviors.
And you know the secret, right? We’re ALL leaders if we choose to be. All it takes is seeing the pattern for what it is and stepping up when you see the vision.