You don’t need a title to have a big impact
You may not think of yourself as a leader but, if you are influencing others, you most certainly are! We tend to think of leaders as CEOs, managers and politicians — the sorts of people with formal leadership roles. But some of our most impactful leaders don’t have a title, nor do they supervise others. Informal leaders are all around us, and we need to take the time to notice how they use their skills to engage and motivate us – and how we, too, influence others!
My definition of leadership is actions and behaviors that influence the actions and behavior of others. That surely includes many people in informal leadership roles. Think of the co-worker you admire who makes positive work suggestions that you choose to follow. Or a friend who encouraged you to assist with a volunteer project in your community.
Not all informal leadership is positive, of course. For example, people who spread rumors or talk poorly of others may influence and lead people in negative ways.
Consider influencers on social media, television, podcasts, etc., who can have positive, as well as negative, impacts on other people’s lives.
Are all those who are influencing you improving your life, or are some having the opposite effect? Are there people you might want to pull back from and others with whom you might want to spend more time?
Of course, we cannot always choose whom to interact with, but taking time to consider day-to-day interactions can help us each identify ways to diminish the impact of negative influencers (including both in-person and online). We can also choose to seek out more people who lift us up!
We also need to be aware of how we are using our time and talents to influence others. As Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner observe in their excellent book “Learning Leadership”: “Every one of us has the necessary material to become a leader — including you. … You have to go find it inside of you and bring it out.” Please recognize your power to lead others.
How are you doing as an informal leader? Take time to consider your actions and ways you might be more impactful. Here are a few suggestions to up your informal leadership game.
Start with reflection. Take an inventory of both your skills and actions. What can you learn from past situations and ways you have impacted others? What has worked well and what not so well? What might you do more of, and what might you want to do differently?
Are you living your values? Take time to list values most important for you, and then consider how you might more consistently embrace them in everyday life.
We all let ourselves down from time to time, but with a little more conscious effort, we can up our personal consistency and leadership effectiveness.
Embrace authenticity. Be true to yourself and communicate that to others. People see quickly through those who pretend to be someone they are not. Start with self-awareness — knowing who you are, what you believe in, and how you embrace your beliefs in daily life.
Be more present. I recently observed nearly half of the students on a college campus walking about staring at their cellphones. On top of the obvious safety concerns, this increasingly common behavior is the antithesis of being present.
We influence others by showing them we care by giving our undivided attention and, when others are not present, observing what is going on around us.
Have a goal. I have heard it said that it is less important to achieve a goal than to have one. Bringing meaning and purpose to life has a huge impact on our lives and those around us.
With a little conscious effort, we can all be more effective leaders, adopting positive habits of those who touched our lives.
Looking back on my life, I recall people I was drawn to and sought to follow, such as a camp counselor who took me hiking up Mt. Washington (an event I celebrated 60 years later this summer). I sometimes wonder how much different my life would have been without that inspiration.
We each have an extraordinary opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives, including our own. Don’t underestimate your impact!
Douglass P. Teschner is the founder of Growing Leadership LLC. He can be reached at dteschner@GrowingLeadershipLLC.com.
