Today I am sharing a column that will be published next month.
Inventing Your Life
“Lead From Where You Stand”
By
Rob Claudio
Over the course
of my career, I have had the privilege of speaking at many conferences and
local meetings addressing the topic of leadership. I enjoy the subject, because I consider
myself to be a lifelong student, as there are many authors that periodically
write a best-selling book which provides for a new perspective. Through the course of my years of study, I
have come to understand that while I do have some favorite authors, I can
always learn something new from somebody’s message including some who are not
necessarily on the New York Times Best Seller List. If there is one skill that I have gotten
better at over the years, is that of filtering information that I find relevant
to my personal life or for my work, while releasing those things that lacked
value. One particular lesson that I
learned early on as a new manager, came from a training seminar I attended on
the subject of excellence. I recall that
there were so many things that I connected with at this session, that spoke to
many facets of my life at that time. I
had the realization and continue to teach when I have a chance, that doing
small things in an excellent manner, leads to larger things that embody
greatness. It was during this discussion
that I learned a lifelong nugget of wisdom when they discussed the concept of
leading from where you stand. For me this
moment was like a flashing lightbulb sensation that made everything go in slow-motion,
as the words sank into me and I saw my career flash before my eyes. The reason this resonated so much for me was
that I truly believed the philosophy, that leadership did not come from a fancy
title, a particular job or a place in some type of hierarchy. As a younger person in a leadership role, I
learned from years of preparation before that to act and make decisions as a
leader, even without having a title. It
was a sense of self-empowerment that has been with me since my formative years
and I attribute that to my own personal upbringing with my mother and
grandmother. I came to the realization
that if I already functioned as a leader, then when the opportunity would present
itself, I could possibly make the transition easier by demonstrating my
capability which I had been practicing for some time. I became comfortable that one could lead from
anyplace in which they stood and regardless if the job title came or not. You see, once you take away a title you are
left with the real you; at home, on the weekends and outside the world of
work. For me, leadership means that you
encompass some distinct qualities that shape who you are and as a result,
others want to follow you willingly. Therefore, if you are a leader or
aspire to become one of any capacity, do not lose sight of the fact that you
are able to demonstrate many qualities that may be attractive to a potential
team that needs a leader, from the place where you happen to be standing today. Remember that becoming a leader does not
happen in a day, as if you are cramming for a midterm exam in college. A leader develops daily, in the way that you act
and behave along with how you add value to your team without taking credit for
any of it. Hence, put your best foot
forward and model the behavior that you want others to follow, while not taking
yourself or your title too seriously as it does not define you, your character
does.
Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily; even if you had no title or position. —Brian Tracy
