by Helen Neuharth, President/CEO, Greater Casa Grande Chamber of Commerce
Do you think leadership is only for other people? If you do, then consider this – those who want to make a difference can – no matter how large or small – and when they do, they are leaders. Leadership has to come from individuals, individuals with a passion for something. Only you can determine what your passion may be (for example, family, work, change, various issues, etc.). Your level of leadership and involvement depends on you.
Each of us is a leader in our own right; it is just a matter of how each of us recognizes and uses our leadership. Just as each one of us has unique traits in our personalities, we also have unique ways that we handle leadership. Leaders are not always in the front of the line! There are individuals who lead from within a group or from behind the scenes. You may be a part of a large business, group or organization and have a leadership role in one segment of that larger group.
Taking from Seth Godin, the author of Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, “If you ignore the opportunity to lead, you risk turning into a “sheepwalker” – someone who fights to protect the status quo at all costs, never asking if obedience is doing you (or your organization) any good. Sheepwalkers don’t do very well these days.”
Are you interested in finding out what type of leader you are? I recently took that Leadership IQ test at www.leadershipiq.com and I was not surprised by my results. Here is what my leadership type is:
“Diplomats prize interpersonal harmony. They are the social glue and affiliative force that keeps groups together. They’re typically kind, social and giving, and often have deep personal bonds with their employees. And they’re often known for being able to resolve conflicts peacefully (and avoid them in the first place). Working for Diplomats is often more fun and social than working for other leaders (especially the Pragmatists). Diplomats put less emphasis on challenging their employees than they do putting their people in positions to succeed and leveraging their strengths. Diplomats work to avoid having people feel uncomfortable or anxious. Traditional measures of employee satisfaction are often very high for Diplomats. For the appropriate people, it’s a great situation. Famous Diplomats include Mohandas Gandhi and Sheryl Sandberg (COO of Facebook).” (Mark Murphy Company-Leadership IQ)
How about you? Why don’t you find out what your leadership type is? You may or may not be surprised at the type of leader you are.
