Leading from wherever you are
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
There was an interesting story in this past weekend's Wall Street Journal about leading from below....the subhead said it all..."CEOs can't change companies on their own."
Which means that you need to develop and nurture leaders at all levels of your organization to achieve change. It also introduced the idea of horizontal rather than vertical levels of leaders -- people who can influence at a peer or colleague level to achieve change.
Author John Maxwell covered similar territory in the book "The 360 Degree Leader: Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization." I've given this to a number of members of my team who think they can't lead if they don't have a certain title or people reporting to them. Because I don't believe leadership is guaranteed with a title or paygrade.
I believe the strongest leaders are those who don't have employees to do their bidding -- who need to earn respect and gain credility based on who they are, what they have to say, and how they influence others.
I know several signicant leaders here at Quixtar who aren't in "leadership roles." And they have certain common traits. First, they're smart and good thinkers. They can size up a situation and give you an opinion or thoughts you may not have come to on your own. And they're brave. They aren't afraid to offer a contrary point of view, dissenting opinion or unpopular direction. They're able to think differently about a problem or an opportunity.
They're persuasive -- they're able to get you to consider a perspective other than your own. They're scrappy -- if they believe their recommendation is the one to pursue, they'll fight for it and use all information and tools available to ensure their perspective is considered. And finally, and perhaps most importantly, they're motivated by the greater good -- for the organization, for the project, for the business.
Because if you have all these traits and you're only out for yourself, you'll find it difficult to find anyone to follow where you're headed.
Maxwell spoke to Quixtar management last year and impressed all with his humble approach and giving spirit. And he helped everyone there get past the "can'ts" related to effective leadership and focus on all they can do, from wherever they are in the organization, to lead into the future.