Читать книгу Leading from the In-Between - John McAuley - Страница 12

Over time, people have asked me, “Why do you spend so much time thinking about and reading about leadership? Not everyone is a leader, and not everyone needs to cultivate the core practice of leadership.” I disagree—at least in part—because leadership operates on three levels.

The first is the sphere of leading self. In this sphere, none of us are excused. We lead to live. Without taking on the mantle of leadership, how can you lead yourself out of bed each morning into purposeful action? If you cannot lead yourself, you are powerless to respond to the change that comes at you in your everyday life and live into your preferred future.

The second is the sphere of team leadership. While we all lead at the level of self, a smaller but substantial subset of us also leads others. Team leadership may show up in the classroom, on the schoolyard, in the workplace, at camp or in a church or other place of worship. No matter how skilled, how gifted, how competent, no one person is entirely sufficient for all situations. That’s where team leadership comes into play.

The third is the sphere of organizational leadership. You know you are in this sphere when the purpose of your leadership serves someone else who is expecting value. When I try to get on a hockey team, it’s about personal leadership—my own skill, drive and discipline are what help me reach my goal. When I’m the captain of the team, it’s about team leadership—we train and play together with the goal of winning our games. But when I am the general manager of Team Canada, it’s about enterprise leadership—because our team’s purpose is much bigger than just winning a game. We also carry the hopes of the fans and the nation, alongside pleasing sponsors and meeting expectations.

If you struggle with leading self, you will struggle with leading others. And if you struggle with leading others, you will struggle with leading an enterprise. This book tackles the challenges of leadership in all three spheres.