You Are a Leader (Yes, You!)

Are you a leader?

Like most of us, you probably said no. You’re not some big shot at your company, you’re not in a lab finding cures for diseases, and you’re not leading an army into battle.

We tend to focus on the traditional definition of leader: a man in a suit standing at a podium lecturing us about his big ideas.

But that’s such a limited view. Could a leader be something else?

Could you be a leader…and not know it?

Being a leader doesn’t mean that you’re changing the world. It might mean that you’re changing just one person’s life.

I love this video of Drew Dudley’s TEDx talk on “Leading with Lollipops.” He describes an incident that changed a young woman’s life, and it was all because of his influence.

Please, please, do yourself a favor and watch it. This is powerful stuff.

You would be shocked if you knew how you are affecting the people around you right now.

Consider the way you treat

• Your family, kids, and partner
• Your friends and frenemies
• Your boss, coworkers, and interns
• Waiters, janitors, bus drivers, and other service workers
• Strangers on the street

You may not even remember the biggest impact you’ve had on someone. But they’ll remember. That’s what being a leader is about.

I challenge you to tell the people who have made your life better that they have influenced you.

I challenge you to expect that you are a leader every day, in every moment.

You have value.

You are important.

You are a leader.

How do you lead in your everyday life?