Everyday Leadership

Leadership more often is exercised by everyday leaders in schools, homes and communities without much or any public attention being drawn. According to CCL's André Martin. "Leaders are people who, in connection with others, accomplish the tasks of setting direction, building commitment and creating alignment."

CCL in a recent study attempting to gain insight from everyday leaders attempted to explore definitions of leadership, key leadership skills and current challenges. The study included interviews with people from diverse backgrounds including teachers, a car dealership owner, medical doctors, an accountant, a judge, a mayor, a not-for-profit director, Peace Corps volunteers and stay-at-home moms, among others.

"The concepts of inspiration and guidance, vision, and change were articulated in one way or another by most interviewees," says Martin. Combining the key elements from the various interviews, one definition of leadership for everyday leaders is:

The ability to create a vision for positive change, help focus resources on right solutions, inspire and motivate others and provide opportunities for growth and learning.

What skills are needed?
Skills related to interpersonal openness and building relationships were the most frequently mentioned. Commitment, demonstrated knowledge, organization skills and ability to persuade/negotiate were also in the top five.

Looking to the future, there isn't much difference to present requirements: interpersonal openness and building relationships remained at the top, followed by organization skills and the ability to persuade/negotiate. There was a rise in the skills of communication, delegation and setting direction, suggesting, says Martin, "that leaders will need to be even more cognizant of where they are taking people and how to help people be involved."


Tasks of Leadership
CCL's definition of an effective leader is someone who, in connection with others, is able to accomplish three key tasks of leadership:

Setting direction is the articulation of mission, vision, values and purposes. Key questions are: Where are we going? What are we going to do? Why are we doing it?

Building commitment involves the creation of mutual trust and accountability, including addressing questions such as: How can we stay together? How can we work better as a group? What can improve cooperation?

Creating alignment is about finding common ground and areas of interrelated responsibility. Effective leaders ask: How can we develop a shared understanding of our situation? How can our actions be better coordinated?