While there are many people in leadership positions, it’s the absence of leadership behavior that is destroying the opportunity of companies and teams to reach their full potential. With all of the books, blogs, podcasts, and training on the topic of leadership, you would have thought we would have mastered the art of leadership by now. Yet, the more I visit and witness the hallways, cubicles, and conference rooms of corporations, colleges, and athletic facilities, I still see room for improvement.

Just because someone is in a leadership position doesn’t make them a leader. And as my friend and incredible leadership expert Mark Sanborn says in his book with the same title, “You don’t need a title to be a leader.” There are certain skills, characteristics, and principles that all great leaders possess that make them impactful and allow them to lead from any position of influence. Now more than ever, we need leaders to step up into their leadership role and embrace their leadership opportunity. And this means you, because regardless of your title or the roles you play in life, you are a leader because you have influence to cultivate and create or kill and destroy the potential of those around you and ultimately the culture of your community.

Here are some things that you can do to be present as a leader:

• Be Aware – Be aware of your strengths, opportunities, and priorities. Also, be aware of the people around you including their strengths, their stories, and their possibilities.
• Be an Encourager – Encourage the people that you lead and influence. Don’t just thank them for a job well done after the project is completed. Encourage them in the skills and character traits that they demonstrate along the way.
• Be an Initiator – Great leaders initiate positive change. They see opportunities, and they seize the moment to make a positive impact!
• Be Purposeful and Disciplined – Be purposeful in how you approach your role and disciplined in how you make the most of each day. Leverage systems and processes that help you become efficient with your time and effective with the people you lead and the impact you make.
• Be an Accountability Partner – Choose to not only be a mentor to someone this year but also an accountability partner. Seek to understand their goals and growth areas and serve as someone who encourages accountability to the process of achieving these goals and becoming the person they want to be. This could be as simple as asking 4 questions on a routine basis:

1. 1. How’s it going?
   2. What lessons have you learned?
   3. What obstacles have you encountered?
   4. How can I help?

• Be a Learner – Great leaders are lifelong learners. Commit to the process of growth not only in areas of weakness but even more so in areas of strengths. Mastery of a topic or skill should be a process, not an event. A leader who continually learns also serves as a great example to others that you never arrive; you only become.
• Be Consistent – Choose to be more consistent in how you handle situations and circumstances as well as how you engage with people. For me, patience and a proper perspective are keys to success in this area and are things that I am still working on.
• Be a Communicator – Transformational leaders are great communicators, and this begins with being an effective listener, not necessarily an effective public speaker. Some of the best leaders and mentors I have served with were empathetic listeners who communicated when necessary and needed. And when they communicated, it was based on the proper context and the right principles, not just a spur of the moment reaction to a situation.
• Be an Activator – The leadership role of Activator is one of my favorite roles that we cover in our leadership development program! An Activator is someone who seamlessly makes a positive impact by direct action as well as acting through others. They are like a point guard in basketball who dribbles the ball up the court, surveys the situation, and either scores themselves or sets someone else up to score by passing the ball. Your role as a leader allows you to do the very same thing. Great leaders are effective at making decisions and delegating to others.
• Be Service-oriented – Be someone who serves the needs of others instead of sitting back and letting others serve you.
• Be Mission-minded – Be a leader who is focused on a mission versus just going through the motions. Be someone who embraces every day as a moment to advance that mission and inspire others to join you along the way.
• Be Open to the Feedback of Others – Throughout your journey, be open to the feedback of others, especially those people who want to see you succeed and be the best version of yourself. Great leaders encourage and seek out feedback from mentors and people within their circle of influence to avoid blind spots. They also seek out feedback that allows them to realize their strengths. Remember, feedback should be both positive and constructive allowing you to leverage your strengths and grow in areas that you need to improve.

Deficits are draining and can leave a void if they are not properly dealt with. Decide today to use your influence and leadership agency, regardless of the title you have, to make a positive difference in the lives of the people around you. Your teammates will be forever grateful that you decided not to leave a leadership deficit but to invest in a leadership surplus that expands into future generations.