Is it really leadership if I don’t know I am doing it?

Is it really leadership if I don't know - 1Is it really leading if I don’t know it is happening?  That is the question that I have begun pondering in the last few days.

For those of you that participated in the Seriously, why do we lead? discussion, I say thanks.  But one of the threads that I seemed to see in the comments on the site and those that happened in facebook and other social medial caused me to ask the fundamental question; “Is it leadership if I am not aware of it or it is happening without my direct knowledge and awareness?”  In other words, must there be intentionality to leadership?

I don’t think that I have time to flesh this thought and idea out fully at this time.  So, on this early Monday morning in June I will just put some questions out there and ask you for some feedback and comments.

  1. Can we be leaders and be unaware of or leadership role?  And if so, what would that look like?
  2. Is leadership and support for a greater cause the same thing?  In other words, is giving support to a greater cause the same thing as leadership?
  3. Can we be accidental leaders?  Or, perhaps, better asked, can we be unaware leaders?
  4. Does leadership require a measure of intentionality in order to really be leadership?  Must we do what we do on purpose?
  5. What are some other words that can be used to describe leadership?

I hope that you will ponder this and then weigh in on this and throughout the week.  Rest assured that your comments will shape my thoughts and will show up in a future post or article.

Have a great week.

Photo credit: Tambako the Jaguar / Foter / (CC BY-ND 2.0)
Photo credit: Lori Greig / Foter / (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

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I am the husband of a beautiful and wonderful woman. I am the father of two of the greatest kids on the planet. I am a father-in-law to a great young woman. And I am Papa to three very special grandchildren. In my spare time I am an active blogger and writer. And if there is any time left over, I work with small non-profit organizations and churches on the topics of change management, crisis intervention and leadership development.

Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.