Is Everyone a Leader?

There I stood in front of a crowd of one thousand students and faculty members, at a university in the Midwest. One instructor stood up with a question I get almost everywhere I go. Usually it is asked by a person who already has an answer—they just want to hear what I’m going to say to this seemingly obvious question...

The answer of course is yes and no. (How’s that for a politically correct answer?) It all depends on how you define the word “leader.” If you define it in the tradition fashion—that a leader is someone with a position, in charge of a group of people in an organization—then, the answer is no, in my opinion. Not everyone and certainly not every student is gifted to become the president, the chairman, the CEO or the key leader of a large team of people. Most will never occupy a top spot in a flow chart. Perhaps only ten percent of the population will. For the sake of discussion, we’ll call these people “Leaders” with a capital “L.”

 

If leadership means possessing a gift to organize groups of people to accomplish a task, then it’s exclusive and obviously not for everyone. In fact, we will frustrate students by telling them they are “Leaders”—only to disappointment them with a lofty ideal they’ll never attain. We create a false expectation. Most of the arguments surrounding this question boil down to contrasting definitions.

 

If we define leadership, however, in a different manner, it opens up an entirely new perspective for students. What if leadership was more about people pursuing a “calling” in their life; a calling with which they will influence others in its fulfillment? What if it had more to do with finding an area of strength—and in using that strength, they’ll naturally influence others in a positive way? The ancient Hebrews had a way of looking at this from a spiritual perspective. Consider this passage from the very first book in their Pentateuch:

 

And God said, “Let us make man in our image and in our likeness, and let him rule the earth...”

 

They taught that their Maker created mankind in His image. What does it mean to be made in the image of God? Part of the meaning is given to us in the very next phrase: And let him rule. Rabbis taught that part of what it means to be made the image of God is that humans have the capacity to lead and to rule the earth.

 

It seems to me, every one of us possesses some strength or gift that enables us to master something and to exercise dominion in a healthy way. Certainly, mankind has perverted this idea of dominion. History is full of leaders who tried to dominate others by force, such as Nero, Stalin, Hitler and Saddam Hussein. But we cannot let counterfeits of good leadership convince us that leadership should be avoided. In fact, if there is a counterfeit, it generally means there is something genuine that is very valuable. Leadership was intended to be about serving others in the area of our giftedness. When we do, we naturally ripple with influence. We don’t even have to try to “lead” others. As we mature, we are to naturally uncover our area of dominion, and influence a sum of people. We may not even have a position at the top of a flow chart, but we lead.

Because this is a larger segment of the population, it might be helpful to call these people “leaders” with a lower case “l.” They are “leaders”, not “Leaders.” They are everywhere, and we must prepare them to influence their world. This is why I choose to define leadership in this way:

 

Leadership is using my influence for a worthwhile cause.

 

Let me say it another way. These two kinds of leaders (“Leaders” and “leaders”) can be defined as HABITUAL leaders and SITUATIONAL leaders. “Habitual leaders” are the natural ones, who tend to be good at leading whatever group they are in. They feel natural taking charge and running point on just about any project. They lead out of habit. “Situational leaders” are those people who make up the majority of the population. Most of them don’t even feel like leaders—until they find the right situation that fits their passions and their strengths. Once in the area of their strength, they come alive and become the right one to lead in that particular situation. This is why a central goal for mentors ought to be to help emerging leaders find their “situation.” This situation is likely where a person will fulfill their purpose and leverage their best influence.

 

Gotta Have It
In 2000, the Kellogg Foundation published a report on the status of leadership on university campuses in North America. The report included both state and private schools, and was compiled by Dr. Helen and Alexander Astin, from UCLA. Their conclusions were intriguing. Let me summarize a few of them here:

 

1. Every student has the potential to be a leader.

 

2. Leadership cannot be separated from values.

 

3. Leadership skills must be taught.

 

4. In today’s world, every student will need leadership skills.

 

Interestingly, it seems that I’m not the only one who’s concluded that leadership should not be limited to the people who hold top positions in an organization. More and more agree leadership is a 360 degree proposition. Most people who influence where teams are going, where corporations are going, where non-profits are going—in fact, where nations are going—are not the Chief Executives of those organizations. We lead up, we lead around and we lead down in organizations. Dee Hock, former CEO of Visa International was the first person I heard propose this notion, and I believe he’s right on. Influence happens everywhere---and often from the middle of the pack.

 

This is why I teach that every student who is willing has the potential to lead and influence others. They may never be “Leaders” but they are already “leaders.” For years I have reminded people that sociologists believe the most introverted of people will influence 10,000 others in an average lifetime. In others words, every one of us, even the shy ones, are influencing people around them. My question is: what breadth of influence could people have who become intentional about it?

 

Naturally, some folks are going to turn out to be better leaders than others. Some will actually become excellent at organizing large teams of people, or at speaking to large groups of people and casting vision to them. But leadership isn’t limited to these skills. If it’s only for the skilled people, then we’ll never accomplish the good that needs to happen in our lifetime. It would be like saying that no one has to pray who doesn’t have the gift of intercession. Or, no one has to share their faith if they don’t have the gift of evangelism. That’s ludicrous. We all have the responsibility to do what we can—based upon our level of God-given strengths.

 

So, let’s embrace it. Let’s learn to lead and influence in a manner appropriate with our giftedness, and not excuse ourselves because we’ll never be Mother Teresa, or Barak Obama or Bill Gates. Leadership is a calling on every one of us, to some degree. It’s about becoming the person we were designed to be. It is less about position and more about disposition. It is not so much about superiority but about service in the area of our strengths. It has less to do with a set of behaviors and more to do with a perspective with which we view life.

 

When we define it this way, it puts the cookies on the bottom shelf. Every one of us can do it.

 

FOR DISCUSSION...

1. How do you define leadership? Do you believe every student has some influence to leverage?

 

2. How do you foster an environment that encourages students to think and act like leaders?

 

Tim Elmore

 

Copyright Tim Elmore / Growing Leaders