For a long time, I believed that every organization needed a great leader to be successful. I also believed that everyone needed a leader’s guidance to also be successful. I have now, over the last 5 years, come to understand we are all leaders, and we each need to be leaders for our society to be successful.

When I help to cultivate leadership skills in everyone around me, I have found good things happen. People enjoy themselves more, and I personally grow from them. After all, it is much easier for five people to push a rock up a hill than for one person to do so. It can be lonely pushing a rock up the hill alone. It can also be very lonely leading alone.

One of the definitions in Wikpedia for leadership is: “The ability to get people to follow voluntarily.” So if a person voluntarily decides to do something, they become leaders as well. They are using their own choices and making their own decision.

The goal for me is: How can I best support the people around me? I do this by trying to find out where each person wants to go and help them get there. Don’t misunderstand me. When a company I own must move forward, I want the team to bring it there, but it must be the team’s decision to go there—not mine as there “Leader”.

I work hard to make sure that all team members I work with understand our focus and are going in the direction we have decided on. If one team member starts to veer off course, I am there to support them back into the direction we have chosen. I have found that, when the whole team knows where it is going and works to get there, they will arrive on time and under budget!

Leadership Quote:

“Restricting information and carefully guarding it doesn’t make us good managers. It just stops good people from doing good work.”
Margaret J. Wheatley , Leadership and the New Science

Steve Whiteside is a consultant specializing in organizational development, leadership and motivational workshops. You can contact him at, 604-786-5677.