We Are All Leaders. Are You Acting Like One?
The year I was ascending to the fourth floor, I had no clear career to allow me to occupy the corner office I dreamt of a decade ago. Instead, there I was in the middle of my self-discovery journey pondering many issues about life. It was at this point that one of my friends on Facebook shared the quote from my now Mentor John C. Maxwell that said, “leadership is all about influence nothing more nothing less”. I immediately looked up the meaning of the word influence and what came up was “to affect or change someone or something in an indirect but usually important way”. Wait a minute I thought I must be changing someone’s life right now. At the time, our children were 10 and 8 years respectively. As I reflected further, I realised that there were more people I was influencing. It was the 104 subscribers who had raised their hands as I launched the Fulfilled Life Blog early that year. By this point, I felt myself grow in confidence as it finally dawned on me that I too could be counted among leaders.
I hope that after reading my story of how I came to accept the title of Leader, you too are beginning to count the number of people you are currently influencing and jumping onto the wagon of leaders determined to make a difference in the lives of those they shepherd. The reality is that we all influence someone because the first person we influence in life is the one who looks back at us in the mirror every morning. I believe it is for this reason that Stephen Covey in his famous book the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People introduces us to the inside out approach which simply states that “private victories precede public victories”. What this principle espouses is that the first person we all need to lead effectively is ourselves. This is because lasting change begins within us and it is when our cups over flow that we are able to serve others from our overflow.
When we make and keep promises to ourselves then it becomes easy to keep the promises we make to others. The Inside out approach also reminds us that it is not of much use to put personality ahead of character or to try to improve our public image before we have done the inner work and become a better version of ourselves.
The Inside out approach also requires that we take responsibility for our actions and recognise that we hold the power to respond positively to situations around us whether they are good or bad. (A daunting task if you ask me). In addition, this approach requires that when we embark on something we stay in it for the long haul rather than looking for quick fixes. Finally, that as leaders, we lay foundations of solid values that guide us as we make decisions and interact with others.
In his book Developing the Leader Within You, John Maxwell refers to one of his favourite leadership proverbs which is “he who thinketh he leadeth and hath no one following him is only taking a walk”. For us to continue to grow in our leadership, we need to ensure that we have people behind us, and this can only happen after we have won the internal battles which threaten to rob us of our ability to influence. It follows therefore that instead of us mistakenly defining leadership as the ability to obtain position X, we need to flip the script and remember that “a leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way”. This is what will prompt us to ensure that we can attract followers and then lead them effectively.
As we embrace the title of leader, let us always remember that leaders grow, and this is best done when we have self-awareness about the areas that need pruning in our lives. Effective pruning occurs when we make time for self-reflection and surround ourselves with people who can help us see the areas that need to be worked on. It also allows us to become character-based leaders who align their values with their actions and so to speak walk their talk.
As we embrace the title of leader and determine to grow and influence better, let us reflect and answer these questions:
- What are you going to do to develop the leader within you?
- Who are you currently influencing and how can you serve them, so they too become a better leader?
Rosette is a Transformational Leadership Coach with the Maxwell Certified Leadership Team. She believes that we each must define what success means to us and then live life according to that definition.
She has qualifications in Law, Business Administration and Human Resource Management and Development. She offers Coaching to women looking to overcome fears, habits and distractions that stand in the way from them embracing their purpose and calling. You can sign up to join one of the cohorts at ACHIEVERS ACADEMY – Fulfilled Life Network