Choosing to lead

Leadership means a lot of different things to different people. It’s often confused with management, and sometimes seen vaguely as the opposite of being a follower. I like this definition from John Quincy Adams: “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

With this definition, you can be a highly effective leader regardless of your job title or where you fit on the org chart. If you can inspire, you can lead.

Molly Schar

The word inspire comes from the Latin inspirare – to breathe into. Inspiring others is not about motivation and management. It’s about communicating value and potential so people will volunteer their best efforts.

Being a leader is a choice. Great leaders constantly challenge themselves to:

Build trust, credibility and influence by thinking big, working hard and doing what they say they’re going to do.
Engage stakeholders in defining a compelling purpose. Get agreement on the “why” before moving on to who, what, when and how. Provide context so teams can see how they are plugged into the bigger picture.
Give people what they need to be successful. Support team members by coaching, providing resources and removing obstacles.

Unfortunately, there is no CliffsNotes guide to becoming a great leader. There is a great deal of literature on the topic – some quite good – but leadership styles must be developed individually and skills honed with practice.

If you’re just starting to develop as a leader, you might be surprised by the many opportunities to lead that you have available to you. Remember, you don’t need formal authority in order to lead. Are you currently managing a project or team? Shift your approach so you are leading.

Another terrific way to exercise leadership skills is by volunteering for an organization you believe in and taking on leadership roles. As someone who has spent her career working with volunteers, trust me when I say that if you are committed to doing the work, just about any organization will be thrilled to set you on a leadership trajectory.

This blog post is the first of many to come, with twice-monthly installments of a dialogue among leaders from OWL’s membership. We’ll explore topics like increasing your visibility, forging meaningful partnerships and building diverse teams. We hope you’ll join the conversation by commenting on posts to share your own perspective.

Molly Schar is the executive director of Ophthalmic Women Leaders. She can be reached at +1 415-751-2401 or mschar@owlsite.org.