One of the biggest career myths I see is that you can’t be a leader until someone gives you a leadership title.
You need to become a manager or a director.
Or someone needs to officially recognize you as a leader before you can start acting like one.
Nope!
Leadership is independent of titles. In fact, there are plenty of managers who aren’t really leaders because all they do is tell people what to do.
Leadership is about service, engagement, and influence.
And you can have a tremendous amount of leadership influence without ever having a formal leadership title.
Leadership Starts Before the Title
I’ve worked with hundreds of people through different career and leadership situations, and I’ve seen this pattern repeatedly.
Someone wants to have more influence in their organization. They’re tired of simply being told what to do, and they want to contribute at a higher level.
But instead of starting to lead, they wait.
- They wait for someone to promote them.
- They wait for the manager title.
- They wait for permission.
The problem is that leadership usually doesn’t work that way.
You demonstrate leadership first, and sometimes the title follows.
A Real Example of Leadership Without a Title
I once worked with someone who demonstrated this perfectly.
He was a senior engineer and an individual contributor. He had significant experience, but he didn’t have a formal leadership role.
He noticed serious process problems within his organization. Those problems were contributing to burnout, turnover, and declining quality.
He could have simply complained about them, but instead he took ownership.
- He escalated the issues.
- He helped people understand the bigger picture.
- He built relationships and influenced others.
Eventually, the organization changed the process. The result was less monotonous work, higher-quality output, better engagement, and happier people.
He influenced the greater situation before it was his responsibility. He saw a need and he advocated and brought people together to make it happen in service of the group.
That’s leadership!
Leadership Is Influence, Not Just Authority
Formal authority can certainly give you influence, but authority and leadership aren’t the same thing.
A title can tell people that you’re responsible for something, but it doesn’t earn trust.
You know you’re leading well when people are willing to listen to you, work with you, and move in a better direction because of your influence.
So what does that actually look like?
Here are three habits I see in great leaders.
1. Great Leaders Solve Problems No One Owns
Great leaders notice gaps. Like in the story I shared earlier.
They see something that isn’t working and ask: “Who is going to do something about this?”
And sometimes the answer is: “I will.”
Don’t wait for someone to assign you the problem. If you see an opportunity to make something better and you have the ability to help, take ownership.
Develop the initiative to recognize important problems and help move them forward.
2. Great Leaders Make Other People Better
Leadership is about helping other people succeed. Great leaders lift others up.
They teach. They mentor. They enable. They care about the growth and development of the people around them.
Leadership is stewardship.
When you take that responsibility seriously, you start looking for ways to help the people around you become better.
And you don’t need a management title to do that.
- You can help a colleague learn something new.
- You can mentor someone earlier in their career.
- You can encourage someone who is struggling.
- You can share what you’ve learned.
Every one of those actions can be leadership.
3. Great Leaders Communicate Clearly
Influence depends on relationships, and relationships depend heavily on communication.
Great leaders listen well which helps them understand people before trying to influence them.
They also communicate clearly enough that others can understand what matters, why it matters, and what needs to happen next.
Clear communication builds trust. Trust creates influence. Influence creates the ability to move people and organizations forward.
Managers Manage. Leaders Multiply.
There’s an important distinction here:
Managers manage, but leaders multiply. You can absolutely be both.
Great managers can be great leaders, and formal leadership roles can give you opportunities to multiply your impact in ways you couldn’t previously, but you don’t have to become a manager to become a leader.
- You can lead as an individual contributor.
- You can lead as an engineer.
- You can lead as a team member.
- You can lead from wherever you are.
Stop Waiting for Permission
If you’re waiting for someone to give you permission to lead, you may be waiting a long time. Instead, start looking for opportunities to take ownership.
- Look for problems that no one else is solving.
- Look for ways to make other people better.
- Look for opportunities to communicate clearly and build meaningful relationships.
Start increasing your influence where you are right now.
You may be surprised by what happens. You might discover that you don’t actually need the title to start leading.
And ironically, demonstrating that kind of leadership may be exactly what helps you earn the title later.
Watch more in the video below:
