If I were to ask you to think of a leader in today’s organizations, I’m sure many of you will think of people who carry titles like CEO, President, Director, Vice-President and so forth. Of course, the simple truth of the matter is one doesn’t need a title to be a leader in today’s workplaces. And conversely, having a title doesn’t automatically make you a leader, outside of whatever positional authority that title conveys.
And yet, time and again, when I speak at conferences or corporate events, a number of employees talk to me about their desire to move into leadership roles, but struggle with how to demonstrate to those higher up on the corporate ladder that they have what it takes to lead others. And more often than not, what trips these employees up is their preoccupation with their current job title, as opposed to seeking out opportunities to actually lead others.
It’s an idea that was brought into sharp focus last week when I was trying to exit out of a multi-tiered parking garage following a sporting event in the city. If you’ve ever had to park your car at an arena for a sporting or entertainment event, you’re probably familiar with how long it takes to exit the parking structure. When I reached the level where my car was parked, there was a line up of cars idling in place, so I figured I’d just wait it out until the crowd thinned out a bit.
After just a few minutes, though, I noticed the line of cars in front of my parked car started moving at a quick clip after which it came to a slow stop. After another few minutes, the procession of cars in front of mine started moving again at a brisk pace before returning to a stop.
Seeing how the line appeared to be moving rather quickly, I made my way into the queue and after a few waves of stop and go movement, I could see what was going on – there was this guy standing at the intersection of two car lanes directing the traffic flow. As I got closer, I could see that he wasn’t an employee of the parking garage, but one of the spectators who took it on himself to guide cars in order to help speed up the process of clearing out of the parking garage.
What was most striking about this situation was not just how quickly the cars emptied out of this garage, but how every single driver listened to this man, patiently waiting their turn to move forward. There was no blaring of car horns, no frustrated shouts from car windows. Instead, every single driver deferred to this volunteer’s judgment, giving him authority to decide who should go next even though legally, he had no power to do so.
While I was grateful that this man chose to help the rest of us exit the parking garage, I couldn’t help but notice how his simple gesture demonstrated an important truth about leadership – what makes you effective as a leader is not the title you hold. Rather it’s demonstrating an unrelenting focus on helping others succeed in their collective efforts. [Share on Twitter]
Again, this wasn’t one of the parking garage employees. This was someone who saw a problem, realized that he was going to be stuck inching his way out of the parking structure along with everyone else and decided not to go to his car, but to instead direct the rest of us out to help speed up the process.
And this reveals another key point about how people can lead without needing a title to do so. Namely, leaders identify a problem that’s impacting others and then rallies people to work together to not only find a solution, but to put that plan into action. [Share on Twitter]
This is an idea I often share with people aspiring to lead. That what they need to do is to find opportunities to help those around them by identifying a common issue or problem you collectively share, then gather a group of people and guide their efforts to find a way to solve or improve things.
And this highlights another important truth that this volunteer’s actions illustrate about why you don’t need a title to lead others – real leaders are motivated not by what they stand to gain from their efforts, but how to channel the efforts of those around them to achieve something that matters to all involved. [Share on Twitter]
As I looked out my front windshield at the cars in front of me and those perpendicular to mine, I didn’t see anyone fidgeting in their car or making any gestures of frustration and annoyance. On the contrary, there was a visible calmness and sense of patience, no doubt because we all recognized that this volunteer was willing to help the rest of us get out of that parking garage, even if that meant delaying his own departure.
And this leads me to the last thing we can learn from this man’s simple gesture that demonstrates why you don’t need positional authority to effectively lead others – leaders create value not simply by communicating a stated goal, but by ensuring all those involved play a critical role towards reaching that target. [Share on Twitter]
Without question, the key reason this volunteer was successful in getting everyone to follow his lead was because all of us recognized that by following his directions, we were actually clearing the lines a lot faster than if we tried to negotiate a way out on our own. We all understood that each of us had a part to play in making his efforts work to help us leave that parking garage.
Likewise, if you’re thinking about leading an initiative to solve a problem in your workplace or to bring forth a change to improve things, it’s important that you make sure everyone involved sees that they have a critical role to play in making that idea take shape. That they’re not simply there to make you look good, but that this is an effort that will reap benefits for all involved.
To be sure, it’s not easy to stand in front of a group of people and try to rally them to follow your lead. But imagine how hard it must have been for this man to stand in middle of this parking garage intersection and get people to start following his directions on who could go next and who had to wait.
More importantly, imagine the lost potential if you don’t try and how others might stand to lose something valuable or of benefit to them if you don’t take that one step forward to stand up and lead.