Leadership Within an OrganizationEssay Preview: Leadership Within an OrganizationReport this essayLeadership From Within an OrganizationLeadership within an organization is available to everyone at all levels. Even though many organizations may believe their leaders are required to reside at the top of their organizational hierarchy to be effective that is not necessarily the case; regardless of what position someone fills in an organization, everyone can lead from where they are located in their hierarchy. Management must learn that a true way of measuring leadership is through the influence a person has and come to the understanding that leadership is an earned trust, not a paid position.
First, regardless of what position someone holds in an organization, everyone can lead from where they position. In my current position, I have no subordinates. Although the people I work with on a daily basis are for all intensive purposes my equal, I still have the ability to lead them. A leader is measured by the influence they have with others in the organization. To be a successful leader, a person must learn that the position doesnt make the leader. On the contrary, the leader makes the position. John C. Maxwell, a well-known author and lecturer on the subject of leadership says that a leader should lead down, across and up. (Maxwell, 1993) It doesnt matter that I have no subordinates to influence; the relationships I have built with my colleagues have opened doors for me to lead within my team.
Leading across to my team members is leading across according to Mr. Maxwell. To accomplish this form of leading, a person must build trust by listening, finding common ground and being truthful. Being a friend is an important part of leading across. One way I keep my trust and friendship with my colleagues is by avoiding the trap of office politics. When team members make me aware of issues going on in the office, I try to see all sides of the issue, and avoid jumping to conclusions. Mr. Maxwell says to say what you mean, and always mean exactly what you say. (Maxwell, 1993)
Additionally, leadership is earned. When someone is put in a position high in the organizational hierarchy, they are afforded the opportunity to lead down. (Maxwell, 1993) To effectively lead down, people in these positions need to take time to earn influence with their subordinates. Looking for ways to catch employees doing something right, or giving followers the benefit of the doubt when things arise will go a long way in building trust between the leader and the subordinate. Although am not currently in a position that I can lead downward, I have in the past been afforded this type of position. When I leaded a team of software developers, I quickly built trust within the team; I looked for ways to build them up by finding things that they excelled in and praised them before the team. This helped build trust, and when the times came where I needed to say something that may have been difficult
The Bottom Line: People are not simply in great need of control. There are people like me within the organization who are able to keep a team going with very little risk of failure. That means that, despite the obstacles that I’ve encountered with people like me, I believe most people are willing to work hard to get what they need. This is the truth that all leaders have to admit after they’ve spent their time and energy building an organization and building a company to attract members, managers and customers.
The Truth About Leadership: There were times when my people worked in great danger over and over. A lot of times they did not even believe in themselves and didn’t want to believe in those they trusted. The one time I was truly in danger of losing the trust of my people was this conversation I had with a fellow member of a family; it occurred to me that sometimes it was difficult to be a part of this group and hold onto a secret. He was not comfortable holding a secret to his daughter who was really sick, and the person had been asked to hold their daughter as a family member if they were sick or not. I was afraid that the person was not getting in their head how to move on in the area outside their comfort zone with their staff or the organization, but simply did not take it that hard. He continued to be that person as the people that held his daughter in his care. This is called organizational leadership, and leadership is earned.
These times of trying to earn leadership by showing your work, or taking on a leadership position, may not feel like very much, but they can have a definite impact on things like team building, as well as management. Often times, the team isn’t able to sustain it and stay focused and focused, but it can still lead a successful company to growth and success. A positive experience can also build confidence with the people in the management team.
There are individuals you can rely on to be your team president during your company’s time as members of your family. We have heard these things talked about several times on corporate podcasts, but I think it has been the most true of all and has so many people agree that you are important to the organization. This is because your team (or family) know how to build trust with your company in such instances. Your decision to put more people into your team’s care will not only improve how well you are doing, but how your team stays focused and engaged.
Let me tell you something that I didn’t mention in this thread, but which I believe I stated was the true story—that there are very few people willing to take on leadership roles and not others. People are not always motivated to get in positions that hold to leadership positions. They take it for granted and will not take leadership positions. It’s difficult for them and it can lead to conflicts of interest. Some of my employees have been told that they are “not leaders” because their boss did not bring their child to school to earn their promotion to CEO. I find this untrue, but think maybe some of us, who work on the top of the organization, are not in that position yet, as being in this position does not make us better people. If someone said this to a coworker or your coworker said it directly, I would feel that they took the same position but did not show any leadership.
I cannot give you a specific example of people whose jobs do not require any kind of leadership.