How To Lead When You're Not the Boss | Part 2

Dear Leader,

I trust this meets you in pursuit of wisdom.

I have been a teacher in teenage church, and I remember years back, one question I like to ask teenagers I meet for the first or maybe, the second time when I want to start off a conversation is; What do you want to be when you grow up?

I’m sure some of us either were asked such questions or have asked a child such questions.

In my years of asking such questions, I have never heard any child say, “someday I want to be Vice President of Nigeria”. Have you ever heard of any? I can guess almost none.

Children with political aspirations, whether male or female, always want to be PRESIDENT or if they lean towards business, they want to be a Company Founder or CEO.

The reality is that most people will never be the top leader in an organisation. This is a harsh reality. I believe that people should strive for the top but when we say people should strive for the top, it is usually believed that the top means being the CEO or being PRESIDENT. 

People should strive for the top of their game and not the top of the organisation. Again, there is nothing wrong with being at the top of your organisation, but each of us should work to maximise our potential and not necessarily the corner of some office designated for CEOs.

Sometimes the greatest impact you can make is from somewhere that is not the top of the hierarchy in your organisation and you should learn to lead from whatever position or wherever you find yourself.

If you define success as being “at the top of the hierarchy”, you will believe that any time you are not there, you are not yet successful. If that belief last long, it can turn into frustration, and if the frustration lasts longer, you will become disillusioned, bitter and cynical.

I believe that if you want to succeed you should learn as much as you can about leadership before you even have a leadership position because you learn a lot about good leadership in the trenches. Speaking from experience!

Leading well as you can, wherever you are, is what prepares you for more and greater responsibility for leadership. Leadership is a lifelong learning process.

Start today, Start small. Take responsibility today where the stakes are small and the risks are low because the mistakes you make on the small scale can be easily corrected and overcome. It costs much more when you are at the top.

How do you become such a leader?

It is for you to Start now to adopt the thinking pattern, learn the skills and develop the habits of the person you wish to be. Stop waiting for “one day when you will be at the top”.

When the opportunity comes, it may be too late to prepare!

Question for the week: Are you prepared for the opportunity to lead?

I’m rooting for you,
Great Owete