How To Lead When You’re Not in Charge
By Clay Scroggins
– Most people are standing around waiting until they get the chance to lead, but you
must start leading right now where you are.
– If you’re not leading because you are not in charge, it is your own fault.
– Leaders don’t sit back pointing fingers, leaders lead with or without the authority of
leadership.
– You do not need authority to have influence.
– Positional authority does not always equate to effective leadership.
– Influence always outpaces authority.
– Each of us are responsible to do something where we are. It does not require a fancy
title or corner office.
– How we see ourselves affects how we follow or lead others.
– Who are the voices that are speaking to you? Those around you and those you are
letting influence you greatly affect who you are and what you will do.
– Your identity is the right identity when you let God speak into you more than you let
others speak into you.
– Ambition does not wait for authority to show up.
– God wants us to actively engage instead of sit back and wait until we have a position
to do something.
– You must weigh your own desires and ambitions. For whom are you leading? For
yourself or for others?
– Are you really wanting what God wants for you, even if that means never leading
from a position of authority?
– Everyone is in charge of leading something, even if that means being in charge of
yourself.
– When you think someone is leading badly you will look for areas to justify your
feelings.
– Your boss is not in charge of you, you are in charge of you.
– If you feel you are not being led well, you might want to ask if you are leading
yourself well.
– No one can lead you further than you can lead yourself.
– It’s easy to blame someone else for not leading well, but own your ambition and
learn to lead yourself well.
– Model follower-ship. If you want to lead well, you should ask yourself the question,
do you follow well?
– You will not lead yourself well by accident, it is intentional.
– Whether your boss goes all in or not, you should. You should be all in so much that if
you left, people would be very surprised.
– What if God wants to accomplish something in you more than with you?
– You can learn where you are; you do not have to be the boss to learn. It would be
tragic that you leave somewhere without learning.
– If you feel frustrated because you do not have the power you think you should have,
or even thought you would have, don’t let it stop you from doing what you can do.
– Seeing what you do have will help you instead of dwelling on what you don’t have.
– There’s a confidence in knowing God has you where He wants you.
– You can be convinced that God is up to something greater than what you know or
can see.
– Trust in God and hope for the future are the two legs that we can stand up on.
– Having the attitude that you’re going to sit back and wait for a train wreck to happen
is not the right attitude and will never make you a good leader.
– You can have the right attitude regardless the circumstances.
– Humility is good for all of us. You are probably not ready for the leadership you think
you should have.
– Romans 13 says that God sets the leadership. Although you may not always
understand, realizing God is in control will put your mind at ease.
– We should be encouraged to pray because we know God is ultimately in charge.
– If you think you should be promoted and have not been promoted yet, maybe there
are things God wants to teach you. Maybe there are still things to learn.
– Stop thinking as employee and start thinking as an owner.
– There is a razor thin line between thinking critically and being critical. If critical
thinking is an advantage, being critical is a snare.
– Stop giving people grades (judge) and start giving them a hand (help).
– Don’t play the waiting game, you will lose opportunities to lead.
– You do not have to be in charge to take charge.
– To break out of passivity, you need to do CPR:
C — Choose. Choose something and begin working.
P — Planning. You can take charge of your calendar in many areas to become
proactive instead of reactive. Instead of finding a problem, find a solution. Think
of a plan that will lead to the solution. Never present your boss with a problem
without having a plan towards the solution.
R — Respond. What is your bosses biggest stress? How can you help to
respond and relieve those areas?
– If you can find an area that you can make better, one in which no one else seems to
care, you will be appreciated. Good leaders take initiative and pick up what others
don’t want to pick up.
– You will not passively find what you do not actively pursue. You will not bump into
leadership or wait your way into it. Make use of the time God has given you because
what you are doing now matters greatly.
– If you are going to challenge your boss, avoid statements that shift blame or use
words such as “everything” or “everyone.” Avoid ultimatums and convince your boss
you are on the same team.
– If you do have to challenge your boss about something, you need to ask yourself
some questions: Do you like your boss? Do you respect him? Do you have his best
interest in mind? Does he/she know that? Philippians 2:3-4 is a great insight on how
you should put the other person’s interest ahead of your own.
– Whether you like your boss or not, you should be convinced that God put him in that
position. If there is something you need to challenge him/her about, and you do not
have the right relationship, stop, and work on that before you challenge him/her.
– Champion others publicly and challenge them privately. Do not confuse these two.
– Recognize that you may not have all the information. Many disagreements have to
do with not having all the information.
– Prepare to be ok with a “no.” What if you are told no? If God, your boss, or others
say no, it might mean “not yet.”
– Great leaders know how to lead when they’re in charge because they were leading
well before they were in charge.
– Leadership starts where you are right now.
– A title does not mean you are a leader.
– Ask yourself what kind of leader you want to be tomorrow and start working on areas
today. You are building a reputation right now where you are, whether you are in
charge or not.
– You can tell the character of a leader not by how they’re treated by their equals but
by how they are viewed by those under them.
– The best leaders are learners.
– You can learn just as much from a terrible boss as you can from a good one.
– As you are leading now, so you will lead later.