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Lead by demand
The second behavior of the impact player is something I call step up and step back. It’s this two-step. It’s what impact players do when roles are unclear, when it’s unclear who’s in charge. While other people are waiting for direction, they’re waiting for someone from above to tell them they’re in charge, to appoint them, to anoint them as the leader or to come in and clarify roles.
The impact players, when they spot a leadership vacuum, they’re not waiting for direction. They’re stepping up and taking charge. They’re the kind of people who volunteer to lead. It might be as simple as noticing that there’s a meeting that’s floundering where people are collaborating politely but where the meeting lacks a clear leader and they might step up and say, “Would it be helpful here if I, kind of, guide us through this conversation?” And they lead and they’re absolutely the boss in a situation, but they’re not the kind of people who have to always be the boss because nobody likes working with that person who needs to be in charge of everything. They step up, they take charge. But when that need is met, the meeting is over, the project has come to a completion, they step back.
They have this fluid form of leadership. It’s leading by demand rather than on command. They lead very much like a flock of migrating geese where one of the birds comes to the front of that V formation which allows that flock to fly more efficiently. That one bird comes to the front, they lead, but they don’t stay there. They roll back and another bird comes forward. It allows for the people who are always tapped to lead to get a chance to follow others, to get a break from that leadership. And it gives a chance for some people who maybe would typically be followers to have a turn leading a team, leading an initiative, being responsible for the quarterly meeting, which means that you reduce burnout inside of organizations. The people who are overtapped get a chance to have a break, but the people who are undertapped get to have the exhilaration that comes from being a leader.
And it’s something managers love because it helps teams escape all the limitations of the org chart. It allows organizations to be agile and nimble. There’s just only a certain number of managers that, you know, you need inside of organizations and managers can’t be everywhere. It’s this recognition that you don’t need to be a leader in title. You simply need to be a leader in attitude and initiative.
Invite yourself to the party
I think there are a lot of people who are willing to lead, but they’re waiting for permission or they’re waiting for an invitation. It can be hard to invite yourself into a party that you were not explicitly invited to. If you need to invite yourself into a meeting, here are a few things to keep in mind. Don’t crash the party. Don’t just show up unannounced into the boardroom. If you see a place where you can contribute where you can add value, let people know you can. Ask for an invitation to that meeting. Let people know that you’re not coming as a taker. Like, “Oh, I just want to listen in.” Let people know you’re coming as a giver, “You know, I think I can contribute in this way.” Let people know not only that you intend to contribute, but how you can contribute. You might want to give people what I call a user’s guide to you.
Understanding what you’re good at, what your mind is built to do, what you do easily and freely and then letting people know what that is, so that they can use you at your best. It’s making it easy, making work light for other people to use you. So it’s like, “Hey, you know what? I’d love to come to this meeting or be part of this initiative. Here’s what I think I can do and here’s why.” And then when you get there, make sure you show up and contribute.
You know, you might be really thoughtful about making sure that you are adding value, but you also want to be intentional about not overcontributing. Play your chips sparingly. Each chip represents something you say or contribute into a meeting and save a chip for when you have an idea that is unique, you know something that you can contribute that perhaps only you could make this contribution. When you invite yourself into a conversation, you let people know you intend to contribute in positive ways, you let them know why you can bring this contribution, and then you make sure that you are additive to the value of the meeting, these are parties that will open up to you. You might even find that you’ll be a frequent party guest when you contribute like this.