Am I Acting Like a Leader?

Last year, a leader within one of our client teams set out to transfer her knowledge and skill set to her colleagues. Being highly proficient in her domain, the company’s growth demanded that her expertise be replicated across various business areas. Light-heartedly, we referred to this series of initiatives "What would Wendy do?"

However, as time passed, it became evident that we were seeking to answer that question regarding behaviors, skills, habits, and disciplines. In essence, we endeavored to help others understand how to emulate Wendy’s leadership qualities.

When it comes to leadership, many of us model ourselves after a mentor or role model. Nonetheless, the individuals we hold in high esteem may fall short of our ideals. Consequently, we frequently ask ourselves, “Am I behaving like the leader I aspire to be?”

I firmly believe the best leaders are consistent, demonstrating leadership qualities across all aspects of their lives. If this is true then there is much we can do to level up our leadership that has nothing to do with the titles or responsibilities we may hold at work.

Here are three areas where we can challenge ourselves to be better leaders outside of work that will also benefit those we lead professionally.

1. Leading While Alone

To excel in leading when no one is around, we must invest in the habits, skills, and disciplines to shape us into the person others will need in the years ahead. This might involve enhancing our fitness and nutrition habits to boost energy, stamina, and physical resilience. Additionally, we could focus on reading more and developing effective time and task management skills. If you plan on your business and team growing over the next 5 years, the answer to all these things is a resounding “yes.”

The question then is, how do you need to start behaving while alone to lead better?

2. Leading at Home

Humble leaders are generally regarded as better leaders (see: this article), and a crucial aspect of humility is transparency. Acknowledging our imperfections and vulnerabilities to our teams at work can be challenging. However, our families intimately know just how broken and flawed we are. We can't pretend or hide behind an office door; they see us for exactly who we are.

Leading well at home means serving our family members to help them become better individuals. through this service, our loved ones recognize that our leadership stems from a place of authenticity and genuine care, as we don’t pretend to be better than we are.

Let’s embrace leading by serving those who know us best.

3. Leading with Friends

Among friends, our influence matters more than positional authority. Unlike leading in our home, we cannot resort to “because I said so.” This setting offers a great opportunity to practice encouragement, exhortation, and empowerment.

We can encourage them by noticing and appreciating their unique qualities that others may take for granted. Occasionally, exhortation might be necessary to provide a gentle push - or kick in the rear - when needed. Empowerment means using our influence and voice to benefit those around us, such as advocating for a friend who would be a good fit for a non-profit board, or making a connection that will be beneficial to their career.

In these situations, we can cultivate leadership skills and habits without relying on any positional authority or reputation we might enjoy at work. It's a lot like those TV shows where they drop off a successful entrepreneur in the middle of nowhere with nothing but a cell phone and $100. The good ones continue to act like entrepreneurs and a few weeks later no one is surprised at what they've accomplished.

Leadership should be like that. A good leader ought to be able to make a positive impact wherever they go, especially alone, at home, or among friends.