we are all leaders

I believe we are all leaders, in one way or another, whether we know it or not. There has been an ongoing debate in Toastmasters over the slogan "where leaders are made" because some people keep saying they are not into leadership just improving their speaking ability. I think everybody can see public speaking skills are in sore need of improvement, just by listening to statements of public officials up to an including some presidential examples in our lifetime. And I'm sure many people have encountered what I have - corporate leadership with bad speaking habits. 

But in order to have the training for improved speaking planned meetings have to take place which requires...competent leaders. For contests to happen, where people get better through practice, there need to be leaders who plan, lead, and judge the performances. And there need to be leaders pointing the way and exemplifying improved speaking skills to let people know what to aim for in their striving to improve.

Even in the non-Toastmaster world leadership is required for any organization to flourish. We don't act in society in solo bubbles. And why do we need to improve our speaking skills? In order to communicate better to influence the world around us, if for no other reason that to change the world for the better - for us if not for others.

Anytime you speak you are being watched. Not in a creepy voyeuristic way. But people pay attention to see if you walk the talk, if you have some bit of wisdom to help them handle life. To find truth in your words and light in your smile. People can be influenced for good or ill by your example, and in that you are a leader, even if you don't feel it or occupy a "leadership role'. 

The question is not "are you a leader?", but "how are you leading?". What message are you communicating by the words that you speak , and the life that you live? And why would you not want to improve that ability. In my training days my method was fourfold  fold: show my trainees how to do the job, explain why I did the job that way - what the end goal was, tell them to make any changes to my routine that they felt got to the end result a more efficient way, and then step back and let them go at it.

I would review to make sure the end results were correct, but I would never force them to do it my way just because it worked for me. I wanted to set them free to be creative. That was the goal of my leadership. 

So who is following you and what are you teaching them. You might be amazed at the people who are looking to you for leadership and what effect you are having on their lives. It might seem to be small, but to them it may be large and you are helping to change the world one little bit at a time. And if we all are working the small changes it can together make a big change in the world. You are a leader.