Leadership isn’t only for the happy few

Is leadership something only the happy few can attain? Perhaps if you take a very narrow-minded view. To me, “leadership is all about the question if you’re willing to take initiative,” as one of my favorite quotes says. It’s a simple piece of advice but not always easy to follow through on. Like one of the employees I coach once said: “I really want to be more proactive, but I don’t know where to start.”

So, is “to be proactive” a synonym for taking the lead? Yes and no. Yes, because here it all starts. If you take the lead, others may take a cue from you. And no, because there’s more.

If you take the initiative, always add a little bit of something of yourself. Do you appreciate someone sharing a Linkedin post without providing context that lets you know why you might find it interesting? Did the sender agree with the author? Or did he think that the article was complete nonsense? Believe me, you don’t want to be known for passing on mysterious messages.