Broadening Our Scope of Leadership

by Alexa Le

When we think of a leader, we might picture someone fearlessly leading their team of workers to achieve a certain task, relentlessly driven to succeed in the workplace. We might even envision a Miranda Priestly-like figure in our minds, a woman with the ability to send her entire workplace into a frenzy with the flick of her wrist. We see captains of industry, rich CEOs in business suits… and rarely ourselves. But those images are only one conception of a leader. In actuality, it’s much bigger than that. 

A leader is someone who has a vision for the future and motivates people around them, with traits such as empathy, honesty, and integrity. A leader is someone who is able to believe in tomorrow being better than today and not stopping until they reach that goal. A leader, simply, has the power to not only change themselves, but the world around them as well. 

It is fascinating how many people narrow their perspective of themselves as leaders to the workplace, when perhaps the most important leadership of all is the ability to be a leader in their own life and inspire change in others. Because how can you be a leader in the workplace if you are unable to lead your life the way you want to? 

Being a leader is about listening to others and empowering them when they need it. It’s about communication and looking beyond yourself into the perspective of another, allowing you to understand where someone is coming from and perhaps being the bigger person in an argument. But most of all, it’s about being true to yourself and having that authenticity that enables you to hold steadfastly onto your morals. There are so many ways to be a leader outside of the workplace, and our perception of leadership should not be limited to accomplishing a labor-related task. 

By opening ourselves up to the possibilities of being a better version of ourselves than we were yesterday, we allow ourselves to take charge of our own lives and hold the power to change the world.