I Am a Leader

Leadership Is a Choice

By Angel Santiago According to Simon Sinek, leadership is a choice, not a rank. There are those that are authorities, and we do what they say because of said authority, but we would not follow them because they are not leaders. And there are those who have no authority, and they’re leaders because they have chosen to look after the person to their left and right of them. This is what a leader is.

When you start your leadership journey, you may not feel like you’re doing it perfectly, and that’s okay. Leadership is an ongoing learning process. Every great leader is always looking for ways to improve their skills. No one ever wakes up and says, “I know everything there is to know about leadership.” It’s just like any other skill or activity; it takes practice and experience to be good at it.

Some people think leaders are born, but that’s rarely true. Most people need to develop their leadership skills. And we often improve things through our failures. That’s what makes us successful. If you stumble along the way, that’s okay. You can pick yourself up and continue on your journey. This is something that Dr. Willian Ursprung, owner of Express Chiropractic and Wellness, understands very well.

“Leadership can be a formal position, but I think on an everyday basis, we all have the opportunity to be a leader because in a lot of ways, being a leader is really about being a good role model. Whether you’re a role model to your fellow citizens, to strangers, to your kids, or to your co-workers, I think that’s where we all carry some element of leadership. I think there’s no question that some people seem to naturally have the characteristics of a leader, but at the end of the day, I really think it’s something that’s taught, molded, and fostered in people. Because you can have someone who has those innate characteristics of leadership, but if they haven’t been exposed to good leaders or good role models, they’re not going to know how to be a leader.”

If leadership is something that can be cultivated and improved, then regardless of your current level of experience, you can always become better at it. What can you do to make the most of your potential?

1. You can read a book on leadership. I highly recommend The 360° Leader by John C. Maxwell. The book helps you develop your leadership influence from anywhere within an organization. You can also try Dare To Lead by Brene Brown, where she shows you that true leadership requires nothing but vulnerability, values, trust, and resilience. And lastly, there’s The Dichotomy of Leadership, the follow-up book to Jocko Willink and Leif Babin’s wildly popular book on leadership, Extreme Ownership. They explain that Leadership is a dichotomy – it requires understanding when to lead and when to follow, when to aggressively maneuver and when to pause and let things develop, and when to detach and let the team run and when to dive in and manage them.

2. Listen to a podcast. I would invite you to listen to The Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast, which offers personal and practical coaching lessons that take the mystery out of leadership. You can also try Maxwell Leadership Podcast or the Jocko Podcast.

3. Find a mentor. It could be someone you know, but it doesn’t have to be. They could just be someone you look up to and admire because they possess the leadership qualities you’d want to embody.

4. Hire a coach. A sincere and trustworthy partner who can walk through challenges with you and cares about your success and growth.

Remember, there isn’t just one path; you can do one or all the options above in any order. Regardless of what you choose to do, the important thing is that you take action and don’t stop until you get your desired result.

Blessings,

LifeCoachAngel