Online Reporter
Hunt For Greatness
Milton Kamwendo
STEP into “leader mode” and move things forward. The future is not waiting. The future is either by design or default.
Strengthen your leadership awareness. Wherever you are, show up as a leader. The question is not whether you have the title. It is whether you are moving things forward.
Author John Maxwell once said: “Leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.”
Leadership is not a position. It is not a title. It is not reserved for those at the top of an organisation chart.
Movement
Wherever there is leadership, there is movement. Leadership is the ability to move yourself, move others and move an agenda forward.
Leadership is the decision to step into responsibility. It is deciding to shape outcomes. It is influencing direction. Leadership is not about location. It is about spirit that you carry wherever you are. The challenge is that many people do not recognise themselves as leaders. They wait for permission. They wait for promotion. They wait for authority. They wait for a chair or an appointment. Leadership does not begin with a title. It begins with awareness.
Strengthen your leadership awareness by recognising that wherever you are, you are already in a position to lead.
As a leader, you are like salt and light. Wherever you are, season the situation. Wherever you are, shine the light that you carry regardless of how dark it may be.
Awareness
Before you lead others, you must see yourself as a leader. Shift from passive participation to active responsibility. Stop asking, “What should be done?” and start asking, “What can I move forward?”
Leadership awareness changes your posture: from waiting to initiating, from observing to acting, from reacting to shaping.
When you are aware that you are a leader, your behaviour changes. You always show up in “leader mode”. You begin to take ownership of outcomes, not just tasks.
Move
Leadership is not static. It is dynamic. Leadership is not a station where you go to park. Leadership is about progress.
A leader moves three things: Self. Someone. Some work. A leader moves themselves.
It is about mindset, discipline and energy.
As a leader, you do not have the luxury of thinking that you are a victim.
As a leader, you move others. This calls for alignment, motivation and collaboration. This movement is not just for the sake of being able to say you are moving.
You move the agenda. You drive worthy goals. You articulate strategy and follow through on execution.
If nothing is moving, leadership is not happening. Leadership awareness must translate into action. It is not enough to think like a leader. You must move like one. Put an eagle among chickens, and it will always stand out.
Mode
As a leader, you choose your mode. Settings always determine performance mode. Leader mode is a conscious choice. It is the decision to take initiative.
You speak up constructively. You solve problems. You drive progress. Instead of just watching things happen, you make them happen.
Leader mode asks: What needs to happen here? What role can I play? What can I influence? Leader mode replaces passivity with purpose. You do not switch into leader mode when you get promoted. You get promoted because you are already operating in leader mode. When people see the leader in you, they will call for it.
Frame
Steve Radcliffe (2012), in his book “Leadership — Plain and Simple”, simplifies leadership into three powerful elements, namely: Future. Engage. Deliver
Future — Where are we going?
Leadership begins with direction. You must be clear about the goal. The desired outcome. The picture of what the destination looks like. Leading is being clear about the future you are working towards. Without a clear future, effort becomes scattered. Resources are wasted and priorities are confused. Even in small roles, ask: What does success look like here? What are we building towards? Future clarity creates momentum.
Engage — Who is coming with you?
Leadership is not a solo activity. You must engage others by communicating clearly, building trust, listening actively and aligning effort.
Engagement turns individuals into a team. It transforms compliance into commitment. People do not follow instructions alone. People follow clarity and connection.
As a leader, you aim to capture the mind, touch hearts and inspire the hands to work and the legs to march.
Deliver — What must be done now?
This is where many leaders fail. Ideas are common. Execution is rare. Delivery requires focus, discipline and endurance. Execution requires consistent communication, follow-through and accountability. Leadership awareness must translate into delivery of results, not just mere activities.
As a leader, you never miss the fact that leadership is about going somewhere, not just driving.
Execution
Execution is the discipline of getting things done. Strategy without execution is hallucination. Many people generate activity and wonder why things are not moving. They think well. They plan well. They write well. They speak well. But they fail to deliver.
Execution is a discipline. It does not just happen because you attended a strategy session. It does not happen because you wrote a memo. Execution requires clear priorities, defined actions, ownership and regular sustained follow-up.
Many people confuse follow-up with micro-management. As a leader, you do not get what you expect. You get what you inspect. Strong leaders ensure that what is planned actually gets done. Execution converts intention into impact.
Titles
You do not need permission to lead. Leadership is always in demand. You do not need authority to lead. Stop waiting and start leading. Stop complaining and start leading.
You can lead by taking initiative. Improve delivery processes. Support others. Solve problems and remove bottlenecks. Deliver consistently. Keep connected to purpose and work even if no one is watching.
Title-based leadership is limited. Influence-based leadership is powerful. You are a leader and not a wheelbarrow that only goes as far as it is pushed.
When you lead without a title, you build credibility. Leadership cannot be hidden for long. Margaret Thatcher, the former United Kingdom Prime Minister, once said leadership is like being a lady.
She went on: “Don’t follow the crowd, let the crowd follow you. Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.” Leadership shows and shines. You do not have to tell people you are one.
Lead
Lead wherever you are. If you have a title, it is a tool and not a guarantee. If you do not have a title, just operate where you are in leader mode.
A title gives authority but not necessarily influence. True leadership requires trust, respect, consistency and competence. People may comply with authority, but they commit to leadership. Strengthen your awareness so that your leadership is not dependent on position.
Discipline
Leadership is not a tourist site you visit once in a while. Leadership is demonstrated daily, but not achieved in a day. Leadership awareness must be practised daily.
Every day ask yourself: What did I move forward today? Whom did I engage meaningfully? What did I deliver? These questions keep you in leader mode. Leadership is not occasional. Leadership is habitual.
Trouble
Many people hesitate to lead because they do not want to be seen to be “troubling people”. You have to overcome the barriers to leadership awareness.
Leadership is about respect, not merely popularity. Leadership is not about pleasing people but getting results.
Some people hesitate to lead because of fear of failure, fear of criticism, lack of confidence and waiting for permission.
Leadership awareness breaks these barriers. You do not need to be perfect to lead. You need to be willing to act and follow through. Progress builds confidence.
Being
Leadership is more about being than doing. Leadership awareness should be an instinct. It must become a way of life, a way of being.
You no longer switch it on and off. You carry leadership into your work, your relationships, your community, your personal growth, your context.
As a leader, you see every situation as an opportunity to move something forward. You always wear a leadership lens wherever you are.
Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about making progress happen.
Take responsibility to influence outcomes.
See yourself as a leader. Step into leader mode. Clarify the future. Engage people. Deliver results. Move towards greatness. Leadership is not defined by what you are called.
Leadership is defined by what you move. Move yourself. Move others. Move the agenda. Keep moving.
Milton Kamwendo is a leading international transformational and motivational speaker, author and accomplished workshop facilitator. He can be reached at: [email protected], WhatsApp: +263772422634.
Tinaye Agere