When You Have to Lead

Note that I say when you HAVE to, not when you WANT to. It's easy to be in charge when you WANT to be. But we don't always get to choose. Sometimes the person who usually leads isn't around, or is suddenly unable to do so. What then?

The Leader Has Been Hit

Anyone with a boss or other kind of superior knows the pros and cons of having someone else be in charge. You sacrifice freedom for structure, accept oversight in exchange for mentorship and direction. But what you do you when leadership is suddenly absent or incapable, and you and no one else knows what to do? You do what soldiers are trained to do: You take charge.

Every soldier is trained to understand that if the person above them is hit, goes down, or is unable to give orders, they are expected to step in and do so. Every solder knows that at any time, the official leader could get hit and leave them in a position of needing to lead.

There is nothing stopping you from taking this mentality into every area of your life. The obvious place is at your job, but it can be applicable in any social group. Unless you are the shot caller for your entire company or social circle and already have everything under control, you should have a solid idea of you will do when the person who is suddenly isn't available. If you ARE that person, be sure someone is prepared to step in for you.

When No One Else Will

Not everyone has the willpower to step outside of their comfort zone and take over in the absence of the usual leadership. That's why it's all the more important that you be prepared to do so, and do it without hesitation. The job still needs to get done. Which means someone has to step outside the group and lead.

Don't wait for someone else to do it. Be the one who does. This doesn't mean you start talking down to people and trying to control everything. Those aren't the qualities of a leader. On the contrary, it means you work twice as hard to build people up and ensure that everything is done to standard. It stops being about you, and becomes about the team, the job, the objective.

How to be an effective leader is a subject covered at great length in more detail than I have the space for in a single post, so we're not going to delve into the intricacies of it here. The point I want to drive home to you is that there will be times in your life when you are called on, either directly or by circumstance, to lead. 

You cannot rely on someone else being both available and willing to do this. You need to be prepared to take the reigns. It will be challenging and difficult, but in the end very rewarding. There is nothing like leading a team to victory, especially when no one told you to.

Have You Done It?

As always, I want to hear from all of you. Tell us about a time that you stepped in to lead a group of people to victory. Tell us about your challenges and how you overcame them.