We Are All Leaders, Not Just the “Titled” Leaders

By: Dr. Nels Lindberg, Production Animal Consultation

Today, we are all leaders! We have all seen people go through the process of gaining a new position of authority or title, and I often cringe when they begin to wield their “new-found power.” We must realize, leadership is much like money -- more of either makes you more of what you already are. If you are a caring, compassionate person, with more money you will become more caring and compassionate. If you are a greedy, ruthless person, more money will make you more of a tyrant. Leadership is no different. If you are a self-centered, arrogant person, a new higher position or title will likely shoot your ego to Pluto and your people will become “short-timers” and a revolving door begins. If you are a caring person who wants to help people, you will likely have a team of people willing to walk through fire for you.

What you need to remember is this: we are all leaders. Leadership is simply the opportunity to influence or affect the people around you each day. It requires no title, named position of authority, or ownership of a business. It is up to us as leaders to realize this and promote this within our organizations. We want all of our people to “lead from where they are” and be a positive force in their area of the operation.

There are a few key points to think about in this process for all leaders, if we want to influence and lead the people that we want to follow us. To gain our people’s trust and have them follow us, our top priority must be to lead with the utmost vulnerable transparency.

We need to open up parts of the operations to show, on a daily basis, what we do and how we do it. If you want people to fully trust you and follow you, you must tell them where you have failed. You must tell them when you are wrong and admit when you’ve made a mistake. And to do it right, you must do it in front of your people. This process takes humility and guts, but it makes you a real and genuine human.

People will follow “human” in spite of mistakes and poor choices if you are able to admit them in front of everyone. Keep in mind there is a difference between a mistake and a poor choice. Great leaders know how to handle those two challenges in different manners as well. Vulnerable transparency does not make you weak! It makes you human, and people follow human!

Next, leaders must know how to get back on the right road if they or someone else takes a wrong turn. We all make mistakes and even poor decisions; it is impossible not to. We must be able to recognize we did so, to “know where the road is”, and to bring ourselves and our people back on the road to our goal. We must have a keen awareness throughout the “detour”.

Try to bring perspective back to the big picture and remain calm in the detour, crisis or conflict at hand. If people trust you in your vulnerable, honest transparency, they will trust you in crisis and will follow your lead.

Lastly, to be a leader, we must take every opportunity to take advantage of teachable moments with our people. The greatest leaders of all time have an uncanny ability to do this.

My wife has taught me more on this aspect than anyone as I watch her navigate the challenges of parenting. She is a master at doing this in car rides home from school when kids often have “word vomit” about their day, as well as when they make a mistake or poor choice and she reviews the consequences they may or did experience. She recognizes it must be done very quickly after the conflict or issue or the true teachable moment is lost.

Often the teachable moment is from your mistake. How did you handle it? Did you teach your people from your mistake? Was it a situation in which your temper flared and