I Didn’t Think I Was a Leader

Last week, I had a surprising realization.

A few years ago, I probably wouldn’t have hired…me.

If someone had told me:

“I help leaders who feel like everything still depends on them develop their people so their business can grow.”

or

“I help you build a team you’re proud to lead.”

I would have immediately thought,

“Well, that doesn’t apply to me.”

Not because I disagreed with the idea. That wasn’t the problem.

I simply didn’t think I was the kind of leader those statements were talking about.

That realization caught me off guard because I’ve spent the past several weeks clarifying exactly what problem I help business leaders solve.

As I’ve refined that message and shared it with others, I’ve discovered that some people immediately recognize themselves in those statements while others quickly assume they don’t apply.

So before I go any further, I’d like to ask for your help.

If these statements leave you with more questions than answers, please tell me. I’d genuinely value your feedback.

Here’s what I do with my coaching clients.

“I help leaders who feel like everything still depends on them develop their people so their business can grow.”

Or, even more succinctly:

“I help you build a team you’re proud to lead.”

The process of refining those two sentences forced me to look back over my own career. I began asking myself whether my current services would have been valuable to my former self.

My conclusion was that they would have been.

The problem is that I probably wouldn’t have realized it.

Here’s what I would have immediately told myself.

1. “I don’t own a business. I don’t even own a budget in the company where I work.”
2. “I don’t have a team. No one reports to me.”
3. “I’m not a leader. Reference 1 and 2.”

And I don’t know about your inner voices, but mine are rarely kind and encouraging to me.

Those thoughts would have quickly become self-condemning messages like these:

I’m not doing enough to deserve the title I have.

I’m not performing at the level I should be.

I’m letting everyone around me down.

I’m not a leader.

I’m a failure.

As I said, those voices in my head can be nasty. I’ve made a lot of progress in this area, but I still have to work hard not to let those self-condemning words that pop into my head take root.

You may be fighting a similar mental battle, so I want to give you some encouragement.

Being on the other side of three decades of professional experience, here’s what I would want my former self to know.

1. You Don’t Have to Own a Business

You don’t have to own a business or even a budget for the phrase “so their business can grow” to apply to you.

At one point in my career, I worked for a publicly traded company. I owned a tiny bit of stock but really wasn’t a “business owner.” I also had a relatively small budget compared to the size of the company.

Because of these things, I could have been tempted to tell myself that I wasn’t in a position to help this business grow.

But that wasn’t the truth.

My very small team of direct reports and I were providing program and project support for multiple cross-functional teams who were redesigning almost every product line we built.

The investment by our parent company was well over $100 million!

I wasn’t technically the “business owner,” but I felt the weight and responsibility of helping this business grow. And the gratitude and pride when it did.

So, I encourage you to pause and consider the value of the work you’re doing to the business even if you’re not the owner. It’s likely even more important than you realize.

2. You Don’t Need Direct Reports

You don’t have to have direct reports to have “your people”.

While being someone’s official supervisor does make it easier in some ways to positively impact their lives, it isn’t required.

In fact, I once reported to the CEO and was an individual contributor. I didn’t have anyone reporting to me in the system.

But I was still able to “build a team I was proud to lead” because I found ways to help others grow as people and as leaders.

I held regular one-on-one meetings with people throughout the organization. Not as their supervisor, but as a fellow coworker. I had the privilege of leading workshops on change management and appreciation in the workplace. I made myself available to serve others as a coach and mentor.

I saw these people develop, grow, and become even more successful in the company. And I now see them continuing to do great things as leaders in other businesses.

Did they ever report to me? No.

Do I still feel proud that I was able to have a small part in leading them? Absolutely!

I’m sure you have “your people” who aren’t shown as reporting to you in the org chart but still consider you their leader.

3. You Don’t Need a Leadership Title

You don’t have to have a position of authority to be a leader.

I have to stop myself from getting up on my soapbox for this one.

For too long in my career, I thought I needed to have a certain title, have people reporting to me, or be responsible for the P&L of a business before I could call myself a leader.

I was wrong.

Anyone can lead anytime, anywhere.

If you’ve followed me for very long, you’ve heard me use this phrase often. It’s the message of one of my favorite books, Your Leadership Edge, written by my friends Ed O’Malley and Amanda Cebula. And it’s the core of the teaching of The Kansas Leadership Center, the organization Ed founded and where I’ve done extensive training.

So, if you consider my coaching services and tell yourself that these may apply to you someday in the future, but you’re not qualified for them now because you’re not a leader, hold on.

You’re already leading people even if you don’t have direct reports or a budget.

In fact, I’m confident that you are already leading the people around you.

You’re influencing how they think and what they do through what you say and how you live. And in some cases, you’re having more of an impact than their official supervisor.

This has been the case for me personally and many other leaders I’ve worked with.

I have a friend I worked with for over a decade who was such a good leader of people that nearly every person who ever reported to him continued to meet with him regularly to get his guidance. They had new supervisors, but they still wanted his leadership wisdom.

Maybe, you’ve never had anyone report to you, but you’re still the person everyone on your team looks to for advice. You’re a leader.

Or, you may have led people for years but you now find yourself in an individual contributor role. You’re still a leader.

Your experience and ability to serve others didn’t go away with your supervisor title.

You can still lead from right where you are.

Here’s the takeaway message I want you to hear.

Regardless of your title, your level of responsibility, or your place in the org chart, you can lead.

You are where you are for a reason, and you can positively impact the lives of the people around you.

If you’re doubting me (and yourself), schedule some time here. There’s no charge, and it would be my privilege to encourage you.

Helping you lead with clarity and confidence,

Greg

P.S. Kiersten was out of town a couple of weeks ago and left me in charge of our Pemberley Woolworks business. That included letting me write her weekly newsletter. If you’d like to see how things went at the barn with the sheep, chickens, and other unexpected varmints during her absence, you can read about my adventures here. Photo evidence included. Boy am I glad she’s back!