I believe that people inside any organization fit into one of four levels of leadership.  A better term might actually be one of four types of leadership.

• Leader by Job Description
• Leader by Nature
• Leader by Example
• Leader by Just Doing Their Job

For this example, please think of any individual in only one bucket.  I understand that many people who may have a title use the technique of leading by example or were at one time promoted because they lead very naturally, even before they were bestowed with a title.

Lets start at the bottom of the list.  Inside every organization are those that simply want to be good soldiers, do their job, keeping their head down.  These people are still outstanding employees, just have no interest in leadership.  An employee in this category is likely to be in at the beginning of the shift out right at the end of the shift and not terribly interested in anything beyond the required time.  This really becomes a problem only when out of balance.  Too many employees in this category provides a leadership gap.  Too few and an organization may lack the ability to get the core functions done.

Next are those that lead by example.  These are the employees that do their jobs well, contribute ideas and show a high level of engagement, but have no desire to advance to leadership positions.  They are more outspoken than the previous category and may even have strong leadership potential, but will say no when asked or may be only comfortable with very limited leadership roles.  These are the dedicated few that are more likely to show a great degree of commitment through a flexibility to do what it takes to get the job done, whether that is through work schedule or specific job duty variation.  You will know these employees because when finishing the sentence “I sure wish I had a few more employees just like …” their name will come to mind instantly.

Those that lead by nature are the influencers.  These are the go to employees when teams are created or ideas need to be generated.  These are the employees that command the respect of both their peers and those in leadership positions.  They represent both the leadership bench and the core talent that drives a business forward informally.  As informal leaders, they will likely get many assignments and responsibility, oftentimes even the respect that comes with it, but may easily be overlooked when formally investing in leaders through training or mentoring.

Finally, there are those that are designated leaders by position.  These are the management staff, supervisory staff and positions where their job description clearly states they must lead.  Hopefully most of the strongest leaders currently inside the organization are at this level.  Ideally those that must, have the capability to.

I have been reflecting upon these four levels and how we are both engaging them and developing them.  More to come in future posts regarding the findings of my reflections.