I have been wanting to write a bit more about this angle to leadership, mostly because I have been here for some years in my career and seeing myself as a leader and a lifetime student of leadership, I have learnt a couple of things to share.
In my current organisation, I report to 2 senior leaders (or call them Bosses), yet I have other people who report to me as a leader.
Usually, an organisation has only one or two people who are the leaders at the top or “Oga at the top”. So, what do you do IF you are not that person?
The reality is that 99% of all leadership occurs not from the top, but anywhere else within the organisation, and that can be in your role as well.
As someone who has been studying leadership for more than a decade, I have come to agree that you do not have to be CEO or Team Lead to lead effectively. You can learn to make an impact or influence your organisation positively from your current role and even if you report to someone who you think does not qualify to be your leader.
In my journey and “studentship”, there are many people who believe they cannot lead if they are not at the top. These people believe that leadership comes from having a title or position. So, it means the only leader in your organisation is either CEO, Head of Department, Team Leads?
If you believe that you need a title to lead in your organisation, then you already have one. Just that it does not have a “Lead” or “Head” attached to it. If you still do not agree, then you are planning to live short of your potential. I’m not judging you, I’m suggesting to you.
There is nothing wrong with a title or a being the BOSS at the top, we all aim for a place at the top, but if you secure that place at the top, and become “Oga at the top”, it doesn’t automatically make you a leader.
The true measure of leadership is influence and influence in my journey so far is not a matter of position. If you can influence and impact people positively from anywhere in an organisation, then you are a leader, and when you do, you make your organisation better, with or without a title.
Whether you are at the bottom of your organisation, as an intern, analyst, or the middle of your organisation as a supervisor, you can influence things and people from anywhere in that organisation.
Learning to do this is actually learning to lead better. Failure to do this is creating more weight for those at the top and falling short of your own potential.
I’ll dwell more on specifics around this topic in the next few letters, because leadership is a choice you make, not a place you sit. And if you have subscribed to my newsletters, then you made a choice to become better at leading wherever you find yourself. Therefore, we are comrades in purpose!
Anywhere you see things working, leadership is involved. You don’t need to be the top dog to make a difference.
Let’s get deeper next week.
Until then, I’m rooting for you.
The Great Owete
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