Voluntary Leadership Is What Everyone Faces
Are you familiar with voluntary leadership? You may be, and you don’t even realize it.
Do you recognize that all leadership is voluntary?
Sure, some people are in positions of authority. Some of those positions are paid jobs.
There is a sharp contrast between the authority that a job or position grants you, and the leadership (or lack of) that is present with others.
Is there a difference between supervising, managing, and leading?
Being a supervisor or manager may provide you with some level of authority. Authority to make decisions, insist on quality, or even plan a work schedule for employees.
Is that leading?
While there may be shades of gray, in most cases the act of supervising or managing isn’t really leadership.
The reason is, leadership is a voluntary act.
Voluntary Leadership
Employees may decide to do what you say. They may even decide that commands are the method of how they receive their next job task or duty.
An employee may consider that they are paid for doing what the boss tells them to do. All of this is fine, and perhaps a cultural aspect of work for at least a few hundred years.
It is leadership?
When someone chooses to follow is there a leader? Likely, yes, of course.
When someone chooses to lead are there followers? Sometimes.
At the root of the matter, leadership is largely voluntary. People choose to lead and people choose to follow.
Receiving money for doing an instructed task is known as compensation.
It doesn’t guarantee leadership.
-DEG
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
