As far as we’ve come technologically and intellectually in our culture, I find it disappointing that we still measure much of our human experience on the superficial. Worse, we base important societal roles on “the look of things,” and miss our own capacity for depth and meaning. Leadership is an excellent example of this.

If I were to ask you to picture a leader in your head right now, there is a good chance you would picture someone on a stage. Perhaps they are using their hands to talk, and every word that comes out of their mouth is eloquent. Even though they have speech writers, their delivery sounds genuine. They are confident, in control, and effective. This is the picture our culture has defined as leadership.

Only the truth is, smooth speeches on a stage are only part of some leaders’ jobs. Because our culture has elevated only those in the limelight—giving them the most press—our view of what it means to be a leader has been skewed. Some of us think, “Well, I’ll never be president or lead a company or be on stage, so I am not a leader.” When the truth is, the most important leaders of our world are often those never in the spotlight.

They are the school teachers, aid workers, moms and dads, retail and business managers, doctors and nurses, police officers, etc. They are those that realize they have an important role to play in the lives of those around them. They are those who spend their free time volunteering because they believe they have a responsibility to make the world a better place. It doesn’t matter whether they are impacting the lives of one or fifty or thousands of people.

Leaders show up.

Wherever you maybe on your journey, there is a good chance that at some point, you’ve thought, “I am not a leader.” You’ve believed our culture’s definition and took yourself out of the running for influential roles in your sphere. You’ve doubted your ability to make a difference. Or, you have been leading all along, yet because of our world’s narrow definition of leadership, you’ve underestimated the importance of what you are doing.

Today, I want to tell you that there is a good chance you are a leader. Maybe you won’t lead thousands of people, but you have important opportunities to lead right where you are. You’re only choice is whether to awaken your leadership abilities out of their dormancy and to let them grow—or to keep them hidden.

As a leader who has sat with other leaders for years, trying to help them find their role, I can tell you the only difference between those who succeeded and those who kept their abilities hidden—is the word “yes.” When opportunities to lead or to serve others came up—no matter how big or small—they said yes. Some of them did so with their hands and knees shaking from nerves, but they took the opportunity and made a difference.

Whether you have been thinking about stepping into leadership recently, or you put those thoughts aside a while ago, today you have a choice. You can explore the possibilities before you, or your can close out of this blog post and go about your day. But, I have to say if you choose the latter, the world will miss out on the good you have been created to bring to it.

Where in your life do you have the opportunity to lead?

What has you believing you are not a leader?

 

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