Imagine someone that has made a difference in your life. It could be an inspiring speaker, a singer that composes songs that resonated deeply with you, or a guru who taught you valuable life lessons.
Regardless of who they are, they are leaders because they have made a positive change in your life. Maybe, one day, you wished you could be like them too.
But is it possible for you to be a leader if you have never led before?
Do you think leadership is an inherent trait that only special people have?
As it turns out, leadership is not what most of us think it is.
Before we explore this question, let’s nail the basics down, starting with the definitions. What is leadership?
The textbook definition of leadership is simple: the action of leading a group of people or an organization. However, the leadership often extends way beyond leading something.
Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, sees leadership as an act of empowering others.
John Maxwell, a famous leadership coach, and author, says, “Leadership is not about titles, positions, or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.”
Although every individual defines leadership differently, one thing is crystal clear: leadership is about creating a positive impact.
The short answer is a definite YES. If you can create one positive impact in a person’s lives, you are already a leader.
The reality is that leaders are not born. They do not have special DNAs that make them any different from us. They are only ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
A leader is trained and coached with leadership competencies by building the ability to lead with required set of skills and knowledge. This means good news to all of us aspiring to be leaders. Anyone can learn skills to be a leader, such as active listening, collaboration, and strategic thinking skills.
Simon Sinek, an American author and motivational speaker, further confirms the statement, ‘anyone can be a leader,’ with his famous quote: leadership is a practical, learnable skill like any other skill. It is like learning how to read alphabets when you were 5 years old.
Everyone has the capacity to be a leader. While some people may find leading comes naturally to them, some may take more effort to be strong leaders.
Regardless of who you are, leadership is a skill that you can learn, and it is accessible to anyone in the world.
Be a leader today. Find out how to be one with Leadpedia.
