Last week I did a leadership seminar for a non-profit I have been working with for a number of years now. The material was built around the concept of 360 degree leadership, that you can have tremendous influence from anywhere in the organization, particularly those of us "in the middle". With the current lack of strong leadership at "the top" of corporations it may seem obvious that we need to develop and support leadership at all levels of the organization, but translating it into real-world work approaches and practices takes a bit of imagination and a lot of commitment.
My audience did seem to "get it", though, as evidenced by their interest level, questions and suggestions about how they would begin to practice leading from the middle.
Later that week I was coaching my team of in-training Ironman athletes in a challenging bike ride. I started out hoping to get a good ride in for my own training, but quickly realized that I was needed at the back of the pack where some athletes were struggling - just not their day. I accepted that my role that day was to put aside my own goals in order to help them achieve theirs. That helped them work through obstacles, develop as individuals and built a stronger team - which is really "the leader's" ultimate goal anyway, right?
