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The 2019 Training Industry Top 20 Leadership Training Companies continue to lead the way in the industry through innovation, through …
Many people often associate leadership with titles. A manager leads a team. A director leads a department. An executive leads an organization.
But leadership isn’t defined by a title. It’s defined by influence.
Every employee has the ability to influence how others think, work and contribute. A team member who helps a co-worker solve a problem is demonstrating leadership. An employee who pitches an idea that optimizes a process is demonstrating leadership. Someone who encourages others, takes ownership and helps their team move forward is demonstrating leadership.
The challenge is that many organizations still treat leadership development as something reserved for managers or employees on track for promotion. In doing so, they overlook a major opportunity to develop leadership skills across their entire workforce.
When employees understand their ability to influence others and are given opportunities to strengthen that ability, they expand their capacity to create alignment, challenge thinking and help teams achieve results that no individual could deliver alone.
Developing leadership skills in individual contributors isn’t about preparing employees to become managers. It’s about giving people the tools to make a positive impact from wherever they sit in the organization.
Before organizations can start developing leadership skills in their individual contributors, they need to help those individual contributors recognize that they already have the capacity to lead.
Most employees don’t instinctually view themselves as leaders because when they think of leadership, they picture a formal authority figure. They assume they need to have direct reports, a senior level position or years of experience before their actions can have an impact.
That belief is deeply limiting.
Leadership begins wherever someone chooses to influence an outcome, lead others or take responsibility for moving something forward. Employees already demonstrate leadership every day, often in ways that go unnoticed.
Consider an employee who regularly helps their teammates troubleshoot technical difficulties. They may not have an official leadership title, but they influence how the team solves problems. Or an employee who asks thoughtful questions during meetings that encourage others to consider a different perspective. They influence how decisions are made. Or a person who welcomes new employees and helps them get caught up to speed on their new responsibilities and surroundings. They influence the team culture.
Organizations should look for these moments instead of waiting for leadership potential to reveal itself through traditional markers, like promotions or performance reviews.
They can start by paying closer attention to the everyday behaviors that exhibit influence:
These questions reveal leadership in places organizations may never have expected to find it.
Equally as important as spotting leadership potential is making leadership visible to employees. Simple observations like, “I noticed how you helped the team work through that disagreement,” or “People looked to you when the direction became unclear,” can help an employee start to recognize their own leadership potential.
Employees are more likely to develop leadership skills when they understand that leadership isn’t something they need to wait on the sidelines and hope to be selected for. It’s something they can put into practice now.
Recognizing leadership potential is only the beginning. Leadership skills grow through real-world practice.
Since leadership is about influence, employees need opportunities to develop and hone the behaviors that help them build trust, communicate effectively and positively impact others.
Effective leadership communication requires more than just sharing information. It requires creating clarity, listening to different perspectives and helping others understand what needs to happen next.
Strong communicators know how to adjust their approach depending on the situation. They can explain an idea to stakeholders, encourage a teammate who’s struggling or ask thought-provoking questions that move a discussion forward.
Organizations can help employees build this skill by creating opportunities for them to:
These experiences help employees grow more comfortable influencing outcomes through clear, purposeful communication.
Employees start developing leadership the moment they move beyond simply completing assigned tasks and begin looking for ways to drive what happens around them.
An employee doesn’t need authority to take ownership. They can identify challenges, suggest potential solutions, support teammates and follow through on commitments.
Organizations can encourage this behavior by creating opportunities for employees to:
This kind of ownership helps employees become more assured in their ability to create meaningful change and more invested in driving that change themselves.
Trust is the foundation of influence. People are simply more likely to listen to and follow someone who demonstrates reliability, respect and accountability than someone who doesn’t.
Organizations can help employees build trust by creating opportunities for them to:
These behaviors may seem simple, but they shape how others perceive an employee’s credibility over time. As trust grows, so does an employee’s capacity to influence others.
Leadership is measured less by your own wins and more by the wins you make possible for others.
Great leaders extend their influence by sharing what they know and creating the conditions for others to learn, grow and excel.
Organizations can encourage this behavior by creating opportunities for employees to:
Being an effective leader isn’t about being the best in the room. It’s about making the room better. When employees understand this mindset and invest in the success of those around them, their impact reaches far beyond their own realm of work.
Leadership is built through experience. The experiences that challenge employees to think critically, make decisions and adapt through uncertainty are the experience that build lasting leadership skills.
Organizations develop stronger leaders when they create opportunities for employees to practice these skills in real situations, not just in training exercises. Whether leading a project, coordinating a cross-functional initiative or helping a team navigate a change, these stretch assignments build the judgment, confidence and perspective employees need to lead effectively.
When organizations give employees room to lead through real challenges, they create a workforce that’s more confident, adaptable and prepared to solve the problems of today and tomorrow. Every project led, problem solved and opportunity taken becomes a building block for higher performing teams and a stronger overall organization.
Every day, employees influence decisions, solve problems, support teammates and shape the experience of those around them. The role of an organization is to recognize that leadership and intentionally develop it.
Organizations that want stronger leadership cultures must look beyond traditional definitions of leadership. The question is not “Who’s ready to manage?” The better question is “Who’s already making a positive impact, and how can we help them grow?”
Creating leadership at every level requires organizations to:
When employees understand that leadership is part of their role, not just a future opportunity, they begin to approach their work differently. They look for ways to contribute and create value beyond their immediate responsibilities.
Over time, these individual actions shape the culture of an organization. Strong leadership cultures aren’t built by waiting for a small group of people at the top to lead the way. They’re built when employees at every level understand that their choices, actions and relationships have the power to shape the people and the work around them.
Leadership is already happening in your organization. The opportunity is to find it, fuel it and create the conditions for it to grow. The Center for Leadership Studies enables organizations to build leadership capabilities at every level by strengthening the skills that make leadership more effective.
Our Situational Leadership® Essentials course gives participants the foundational model for understanding how to assess the needs of others and adapt their leadership approach to create better outcomes. The Situational Performance Ownership® course empowers participants to take greater responsibility for their performance and development. The Your Leadership Brand course shows participants how to define and strengthen the behaviors, reputation and presence that shape their influence. Contact us to learn more and start building stronger leaders at every level.
