What does it Mean to Lead When You Aren’t in Charge?
❓ What does it mean to be a leader when you aren’t in charge? 👇
Recently I had the opportunity to speak with a several people aged from late 20’s through late 30’s in a casual setting where the subject of my work as a leadership and career transition coach came up. One young man expressed interest in leadership coaching with the caveat that he’s not ready yet – because he’s a “junior guy” on his team.
“That belief,” I countered, “might be the precise place to shift your mindset. You absolutely can and should develop your leadership skills in your current ‘junior’ position.”
Here are some examples of leadership behavior you can practice even when you aren’t in charge:
✅ Identify and work to fix problems that you see around you – everyone can act like an owner in this way.
✅ Express curiosity about the wider franchise – how does your team’s work fit into efforts across the firm? Where might there be opportunities to converge with other efforts and increase impact?
✅ Connect with others on the team – what makes them tick? What do they care about? What are their goals/aspirations and how can you help them achieve?
✅ Own your actions and the team’s results, too. Don’t just rely on personal effort to get the job done or temper team failure by saying “I did my part.”
✅ Speak up / escalate even when the message might be unpopular but it’s the right thing to do.
✅ Recruit and develop junior talent. They will see you as a leader and help you grow.
If you’re already a leader, of course your job is to do all the above, plus to instill these beliefs into everyone on your team.
As a bonus later on, these behaviors also address common career challenges that often emerge as we strive to become more senior at work:
1️⃣ Can’t get the job without having done the job. So often a preferred qualification for a leadership position is that you have managed teams already. Point to the practices above to demonstrate that you are ready to take on your first formal leadership role.
2️⃣ Understanding our role in the wider system. Companies are complex and learning to see, navigate and influence the system allows us to be more effective at our job and as change agents.
3️⃣ Leading through influence. Even if you run the entire company your influence skills are more effective at leading than authority alone. Don’t wait until you are CEO to learn this.
4️⃣ Leadership growth in tandem with technical skill growth. Many companies make the mistake of promoting those who have excellent technical skills but undeveloped leadership skills. This practice forces highly competent folks to learn to lead on the job adding stress and uncertainty to the process – why wait?
To discuss leadership coaching opportunities, connect with me here or at john@aconnectedcoach.com.