Core Belief #3: Leading From Where You Are

Continuing with our discussion of the 5 core beliefs behind our work at Catalyst, we'll discuss belief #3 and how we can address it in the structures of an organization.

3 |  It doesn’t matter where you sit in the organization – everyone can impact their work culture and lead from where they are.

 We’ve heard every version of this – “but I’m just the janitor”, just a line cook, just a secretary. My immediate reaction to hearing “just a” is to think of all the ways the day-to-day operations fall apart if we eliminate that specific job. Think of the chaos with no janitors. The overflowing garbage, the bathrooms. No secretary? Good luck getting a call back from the office any time soon. No cooks? The restaurant industry (and then our economy) are in shambles. Okay, maybe that's a little dramatic, but you get my point. Every role is important to some process.

If you are showing up to work every day, no matter your title, and doing your job to the best of your abilities and with integrity, you are not "just a"; you are the lynchpin in ways you probably don't think of. You’re important. And you deserve to be heard, valued, and met where you are. Your ideas, no matter how small you may think they are, will make at least one person’s day that much easier and brighter. I have also done the “just a” when I was not even a year into my previous role. I saw so many opportunities when I joined and knew I could make so many people’s lives easier…if only I had some authority. Oh, how naïve I was … until I learned influencing skills and how to manage up, down, and across. 

Great example – a friend, Dave, was struggling with feeling heard at work. He met with a senior leadership member quarterly for 30 minutes. Of those 30 minutes, 29.5 were of the senior leader talking at Dave. He felt the senior leader was just talking to hear his own voice, giving irrelevant advice, and telling him how to do things his way. Upon hearing this story, I immediately realized Dave could use some skills in influencing and managing up. We had a quick coaching call to discuss a few approaches and role play different scenarios. There are only a few reasons someone (in this case, the senior leader) would talk at someone seemingly irrelevantly – he doesn’t feel heard or respected himself and is using mentoring as a means to regain a sense of power and importance; or he doesn’t know what to mentor Dave on because Dave hasn’t clearly expressed what he wants/needs from the senior leader.

Using his newfound skills, Dave went in prepared with a complementary opener relevant to the topic he wanted advice on. For instance, “I’ve heard so many stories about how you managed that huge merger so masterfully. I can only imagine all the lessons learned that I’d love to hear, and some advice for how to get enough experience to be involved in a merger like that.” The senior leader still spoke for the majority of the meeting, but it was exactly what Dave wanted to learn about, and at the 20 minute mark, the senior leader asked what sort of merger experience Dave had. My friend used the opportunity to mention a few highlights and a tricky one in particular that he knew the senior leader wouldn’t be able to resist giving advice about. After implementing some of the advice in his current merger, Dave emailed the senior leader, thanking him again for his time and wisdom and giving him a quick update on how his advice made the merger go off without a hitch.

Their next meeting? It didn’t wait for the next quarter. The senior leader emailed Dave letting them know they had a big merger coming up that would be helpful for Dave to observe on. Strategy, a clear vision for what you want, and learning skills that help you get there… that’s how you create change from wherever you sit in the organization. 

Many of us weren’t raised with the concept of emotional intelligence and psychological safety, which is why inside Catalyst Consulting programs we’ve included ways to up level your skills so you can communicate effectively, lead from where you are, and create the culture you want around you. 

Ready to lead from where you are?