I’ve been thinking about leadership lately and not the kind that comes with a title, a corner office or a seat at the table.
I'm thinking about the leadership that shows up in the everyday moments of your life. It’s the conversation you know you need to have but keep putting off. It’s the boundary you require establishing but worry might disappoint someone. It’s the idea you believe in but haven't shared because you’re not sure how it will be received. It’s the moment you realize something isn't working and get to decide whether you’re willing to do something differently. This is where leadership lives.
You can spend a lot of time waiting to feel more confident, more prepared or more certain before you take the lead. You tell yourself you’ll speak up when you know more. You’ll make the change when the timing is right. You’ll take the next step when you have a little more clarity. And sometimes, what you’re really waiting for is a guarantee that you won't get it wrong. Here’s the thing, leadership doesn't require you to have all the answers. Leadership asks you to be willing to take responsibility for the choices you make, the impact you have and the results you’re creating. It asks you to be honest with yourself. And sometimes, it asks you to choose courage over comfort.
Here's something I believe deeply:
We are all leaders in our own lives. Whether you're leading a business, a team, a family, a coaching client or simply navigating a season of change, you are influencing what happens next. The question isn't whether you're leading; the question is: How are you choosing to lead?
Are you leading from what you know is true for you or from what you think others expect of you?
Are you making choices that move you toward what matters or are you keeping things as they are because changing them feels uncomfortable?
Are you creating the impact you want to have or hoping things will somehow work themselves out?
These aren't questions to judge yourself by, they're invitations to become more aware of the choices available to you. Awareness gives you an opportunity to choose again. You don't have to wait for January, a new title or someone else's permission to do that. You can begin right now.
A moment to reflect…
Take a few minutes with these questions:
Where in my life or work am I waiting for permission, certainty or confidence before I take the lead?
What do I already know that I'm not acting on?
What is one choice I can make this week that would move me closer to the way I want to live, lead or contribute?
Don't make this complicated. You don't need a ten-step plan. Start by being honest about what you see. Then, choose what you're willing to do with that awareness. That's leadership, too.
If you're a coach, I invite you to consider these questions from another perspective. Your clients don't just need you to support them in seeing what's possible. Sometimes they need you to help them recognize the choices they're avoiding, challenge the patterns keeping them stuck and take responsibility for creating something different. That is part of the deeper work of facilitative leadership and it's work I'm passionate about developing in the coaches I train because when we take our own leadership seriously, we become better equipped to lead others at a higher level too.
As you move through November, I invite you to give yourself permission to look honestly at where you are, reconnect with what matters and choose the leadership you want to embody. You don't have to have it all figured out. You do get to have a choice in what happens next though.
