A quiet leader doesn't need a title.
Stephen Covey of the The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
fame in his book The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness
talks frequently about leadership not as a position but as a "proactive intention to affirm the work and potential of those around us..." Simply stated leadership is a choice not a title.I recently enjoyed an article by Wayne Tumel on Management-Issues.com where he describes this as "Big L" Leaders (with a title) and Little L leaders, no title required. Here are his thoughts (Make sure you interpret the Big L's from the Little l's),
- Leaders don't necessarily lead
- leaders aren't necessarily Leaders
- Leadership sometimes shows leadership but sometimes doesn't and there isn't
a lot you can say or do - leadership doesn't only reside in the Leadership
Thanks for reading. Please lead quietly
Don
3 comments:
I like how you differentiate between the two. Your comment motivate me a leader with a small 'l'. Thanks!
Hello Anonymous,
Thanks for the comment. Big L leaders have a title. As Wayne Turmel writes in his article, "These are the people who are in positions of authority –leaders in a company. They are "Big L" leaders. They're expected to lead because that's what their job title says they do. "
Any of us can be a small "l" leader. Turmel writes, "These people just lead, regardless of their job titles or positions. They are proactive, they lead by example and step up when things need to be done or the tough decisions made. While they are not "Leadership" (the position), they simply demonstrate leadership ( the trait).
We can probably all cite a Leader (by title) who didn't know how to lead. The l's don't always go to the L's.
Don, thanks for the kind words and showcasing my article. We have interviewed many people about leadership on The Cranky Middle Manager Show, your readers might be interested in hearing about it. Check us out at http://cmm.thepodcastnetwork.com and thank you so much for helping the conversation continue. We need more people to talk (and then do something about) leadership in the workplace...and Leadership in the workplace....heck all those letters even confuse me.
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