Lowercase leadership behaviour isn’t loud or flashy. It’s all about taking pride in doing the right thing. Photo: File.
May Busch says leadership is a quality that can be practised by anyone within an organisation, whether or not they have a specific title or inhabit the corner office.
Imagine you’re walking down the hall at the office and see a food wrapper on the ground.
Do you ignore it, or pick it up and throw it in the garbage?
What does this have to do with leadership?
There are two types of leaders. The first is the leader with a capital ‘’L’’. This leader has formal authority and a title, such as Head of X or Director of Y.
Then there’s the leader with a lowercase ‘’l’’.
This leader takes pride in behaviour that doesn’t often get singled out, but sets the culture for teams and organisations; the kind of behaviour the world needs more of.
The lowercase leader would pick up the food wrapper and throw it in the garbage.
Here are other examples of how a lowercase leader behaves:
When they see somebody being mistreated, they speak up for them with confidence and kindness.
When they meet a new employee, they make an effort to get to know them and introduce them to others in the office.
When they hear about a problem another team is facing, they reach out with resources and connections that might help.
When they see a colleague or team member behaving like a lowercase leader, they say a few words of appreciation.
The lesson here is that anyone at any level can behave like a leader.
When you act like a lowercase leader from wherever you are in the organisation, you’re giving everyone around you permission to do the same.
If you do have a formal title, acting like a lowercase leader makes you stand out among your peers because not everyone in a seat of authority demonstrates this kind of leadership.
Lowercase leadership behaviour isn’t loud or flashy, so it doesn’t attract a lot of kudos and public recognition. It’s all about taking pride in doing the right thing.
So don’t waste any time waiting for outside validation. Trust that the right people will notice your leadership behaviour.
However, if it eventually becomes clear that this kind of behaviour isn’t valued by your organisation, it may be time to consider whether it’s the right place for you.
What will you do today to be a lowercase leader?
May Busch’s mission is to help leaders and their organisations achieve their full potential. She works with smart entrepreneurs and top managements to build their businesses. She can be contacted at [email protected].
This article first appeared on May’s blogsite.
