I’ve been thinking a lot about leadership lately. I’m very fortunate to work in a library system that not only demands excellence of its employees, but also gives us the tools we need to succeed. Over the past several weeks, we’ve spent a lot of time talking about our role as leaders, how we can inspire and motivate others, and what it means to take ownership. It’s challenging. It’s powerful. And it demands that we ask tough questions about ourselves to figure out the path to the next level.
If you try to define leadership, you’ll likely come up with at least 100 different answers, depending on how many people you ask. There are thousands of great quotes to describe what leadership is, and articles and websites dedicated to defining the difference between a boss and a leader. But if I’ve learned one thing about exploring leadership on this journey, it’s that it has to start at a much more personal level. It has to start with you.
To be honest, leadership isn’t always the easiest thing in the world for me. A wonderful colleague recently provided me with a variety of resources to explore leadership more personally, to start asking questions and delving deeper into what leadership really is, and what leadership means to me. And it all started with this question:
How do you view yourself as a leader?
At first, answering that question seemed like it would be easy. You could easily define what leadership is to you and move on, but if you stop there, are you really answering the question? So instead of taking the first answer, the easy way out, as it were, I started really thinking about what this question is asking.
Problem #1: I’ve never really viewed myself as a leader. Leadership has always been a role for people who are in positions of power – the bosses, supervisors, managers, and higher-ups who have the control and the power. Leadership has always been an idea that flows from the top, down.
Putting that on paper, I realized that maybe it’s time we challenged our assumptions about leadership. What happens when you take an idea and flip it completely on its head, and force yourself to look at it from another perspective?
Challenge #1: Anyone can be a leader, regardless of their role in an organization. You can lead from any level. If we assume that this is true, then everyone has the inherent ability to lead and inspire, provided you know how to harness that power. With that in mind, change can be enacted from any level of an organization. You can start to change the world simply by changing yourself, one piece at a time.
That’s a simultaneously terrifying and empowering thought. The idea of self-reflection, of figuring out what you need to improve about yourself to be a better employee, a better person, a better leader, is scary. You have to be willing to admit that parts that aren’t so great, that need more work. But at the same time, if you embrace the idea that you can learn and grow and get even better, then you start to realize that what you’re doing really does make a difference. The little changes that you’re making to be better at what you do and the type of colleague you are can really make the big differences that change an organization.
Problem #2: I’ve never thought that other people view me as a leader. It’s easy to say that you want to be a powerful agent of change in your organization, and that you want to lead from wherever you are. But it can be a daunting prospect if you think that other people don’t take you seriously, or don’t see the value in what you’re doing. How other people view us, or at least how we perceive other people view us, can have a big impact on the way we view ourselves.
Challenge #2: Do others not see you as a leader because you don’t see yourself that way first? Or do they see you as a leader, but you’re so caught up in self-doubt that you don’t realize it? If we assume the first is true, then you can’t be a leader without first believing in yourself. As hard as it may be to do, we have to start accepting the things that we are good at and the impact we are making, even if it doesn’t seem that important. After all, from the first challenge we’re working from the idea that the little changes can really have the big impacts.
If we assume the second is true, then you must start to see the good in yourself that others are already seeing in you. There is no space for negative self-talk or blame. Start accepting the good things that others are seeing in you, and work with those talents. Build up your strengths while you keep looking for other ways to improve. What a difference it would make if you start believing that you really are the best person, the right person, to be doing exactly the job that you’re doing right now.
In either case, whichever assumption you go with, you still must answer the question: How do you view yourself as a leader?
Challenge #3: Assume there is no right or wrong answer, just different interpretations. The only truth that you have is the truth you offer, so lay it out on the table, for better or worse, and let it speak for itself. Make a start. One of the many things my colleagues have challenged me on is the idea of “right” and “wrong,” or that there’s only one answer or way of doing things. The more you start to think about it, though, the more you realize that’s really not the case. We are each beautifully and wonderfully unique, with our own talents and skills and ideas, because that’s exactly what the world needs. So take your interpretation, and the interpretations of those around you, and start to build a new understanding, one that continues to grow and evolve as you do.
Repeat after me: I AM A LEADER. Now believe it, and show it, whatever your interpretation of leadership is. Do it every day, again and again. Then listen to those around you, and grow, and change, and do it better. Do it so often that it becomes second nature, a very part of your being. But never stop trying, never stop improving. Keep moving forward.
Now answer the question: How do you view yourself as a leader?
It’s only fair that I offer an interpretation of my own:
I want to to be a leader by example. I try to show others the characteristics that make great leaders: honesty, integrity, dedication, commitment, hard work, sincerity, determination. I want other people to see in me the type of person they want to be. I want to be a reflection of all the good that others have invested in me, all the lessons that I’ve learned and that I’m still learning. I want to be a leader by giving the time, care, and concern that others gave to me to those who, like me, need it the most. I want to be a leader by admitting when I am wrong, and asking for help when I need it, and being gracious enough to accept that help when I do. I want to be a leader who can put the needs of others before my own. I want to be a person who inspires others to find their own greatness.
I am a work in progress, and sometimes I can admit that’s okay. I may not yet be a leader in all the ways that I want to be, but I am a leader because I continue to show up every day, to put the work in, and to try.
I am a leader because of those who believe in me. I am a leader because I am working on it, EVERY SINGLE DAY.
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