#93 | 5.2.25 - Q&A: How Do I Lead When I’m Not in Charge? / No Triangles / 20 Ways to Lead Positive / How to Fold The Best Paper Airplane
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Q&A: “How Do I Lead When I’m Not in Charge?”
I received a great question this week from the eastern part of our great country:
Hi! Question for you - I guess, to put it simply, how do I lead when I’m not in charge of anyone? I aspire to be in a leadership position one day, but right now I don’t have anyone reporting to me. But I don’t want to wait til ‘tomorrow’ to lead. Any advice?
Thank you!
Cameron B.
Richmond, Virginia
Great question, Cameron. I like the way you put that, and I think it’s something we can all relate to. In my experience:
You don’t need a title to lead.
You don’t need a corner office.
You don’t need a team reporting to you.
What I’ve noticed is that leadership isn’t necessarily ‘granted’, but practiced. The truth of it is, if you wait to get promoted before you lead, you’ll miss your shot.
So, practically, how do you lead when you’re not in charge?
1️⃣ Take ownership where you can.
As I’ve written before, the two things we can control are our attitude and our effort.
It makes me think of the old parable about the effect water has on an egg, a carrot, and a coffee bean.
Water makes the egg hard
Water makes the carrot soft
Water is transformed by the coffee bean
Be the coffee bean. Own your work. Own your attitude. Own the space around you. Influence isn’t always top-down—it’s inside-out. 👍
2️⃣ Ask better questions.
Traditional leadership says you have to be the one with all the answers. While there’s certainly a time and place for providing answers, I’ve found my favorite leaders are the ones who ask more questions than give answers.
Sometimes it’s about being the one brave enough to ask,
“Why are we doing it this way?”
“What’s getting in our way?”
“How can I help?”
3️⃣ Be ridiculously reliable.
10+ years ago, I had a boss who never replied to emails. Ok, maybe never is a stretch, but it would take 3-4 weeks to get simple responses. Everyone at the company chalked it up to, “Oh, that’s just the way they operate.” 🤦♂️
The truth is, people start listening to you when they can count on you.
Meet deadlines
Keep your word
Deliver quality
That’s not boring—it’s great leadership!
4️⃣ Speak life into the room.
Don’t underestimate the power of encouragement. Leadership means lifting people up, even if you don’t manage them. A well-timed “you’ve got this” goes further than you think.
Bonus tip: Try going 24 hours without saying anything negative. Sounds simple, but I found it’s harder than it appears!
5️⃣ Walk slowly through the crowd
This one I stole from John Maxwell. The idea is to build margin in your day, so you can “walk through the crowd”. Be in the field, on the ground, on the floor, whatever analogy suits you - show up where your people are, versus waiting for them to come to you.
The good news is you don’t need to be in charge to lead. Start where you are, with what you have, so that when the promotion comes, you'll already be doing the work. 😉
No Triangles
Gosh, this is one of my favorite articles I’ve read in a long time. It makes me wish I wrote it! If everyone practiced this, our world would be so much better off.
20 Ways to Lead Positive
This is a great list of 20 ideas from Jon Gordon. A few of my favorites:
10) Communicate. Communicate. Communicate. Where there is a void in communication negativity will fill it.
11) Pursue Excellence. You don’t have to choose between positivity and success. Being positive and pursuing excellence leads to success.
15) Connect one on one with your team. You can’t lead someone effectively if you don’t know them.
How to Fold The Best Paper Airplane
In the category of “things you don’t need to know, but maybe you do”, is this site. All the instructions you could want, with different filters, etc. Just in time for Spring!
Laziness kills ambition
Anger kills wisdom
Fear kills dreams
Ego kills growth
Jealousy kills peace
Doubt kills confidence
Now read that right to left.
- Unknown