Notes

There is enough passion and self confidence to figure out how to lead where you’re not
in charge. Pushing decision making down the organization as far as possible is essential.
Just because someone is not in charge doesn't mean you can't lead. For leadership
(referring to influence) everyone has influence and since leadership is influence, we all
can lead. It’s common for people to think they have to have a “title” to lead and it’s false.
By being a leader, it’s optimal to surround yourself with people who have lots of
influence. Learning to lead is learning to be a great follower but there are types of them.
Yes followers are pragmatic and bad but star followers want to help people achieve what
they need to achieve and ask questions - something critical in achieving what’s right.
The more engaged anyone is in an organization the more they become leaders and the
more influenced in an organization they are. When you lead yourself well, you become
easy to lead an your most desirable to be lead, you are also the quickest to be lead next.
This all boils down back to influence. Some leaders are threatened by people who
question things that would normally go unquestioned, do things that are right as the
system is designed, and truly see potential in people because these so called “leaders”
like obedient people who question nothing and do 100% what they are told but these
types of people who question things are essential to any organization. There are far
more people not in charge than who are in charge. When people buy into the lie that
they must be a leader to take charge, they waste opportunities to lead and reduce
influence. When someone waits, they become less of a leader and not more. One of the
best things a leader can have is an attitude of positivity because it’s contagious. Leaders
who are not in charge are quick to criticize because they think they can do it better since
they are not in the situation. Having the skill to think critically makes things better but
it’s common unfortunately to have the opposite. Critical thinkers naturally notice things,
they question things: (What if we did this? What is this doing over there?) and thirdly,
they make connections. Being critical (always saying no without reasoning, for example)
makes people feel powerful but it’s not good; constructive criticism is what’s needed.
Complaining is one thing, but complaining and providing a reasonable solution is
another thing. When people start to introduce big change, which is risky, people may
resist change even though they may have the organization’s best interests in mind
because it’s natural to dislike change. At one Chick-fil-A restaurant, milkshakes were so
demanded that one store took it into their own hands and introduced the product before
it was implemented nationwide. It was risky but well worthy. You can’t tell everyone of
your plans but vice versa, you can’t be stealth and tell no one. Keeping a few people
knowledgeable (or submarine knowledge) is keen. Innovation rarely happens at the top
and trickles down. It normally happens by the ordinary person, in a lab, or the back of
the store. The only way to get these people and keep them is to have an environment
where ideas like these can succeed and where negativity is not shut down immediately.
Four behaviors are critical for leading when you’re not in charge: How do I lead me
well? How do I choose positivity? How can I think critically but not become critical and
also add value from whatever seat I come from? How do I reject passivity? The
gravitational pull will always be towards the victim mindset. Good things don't
necessarily come to those who wait.