Leadership is a Presence, Not a Position
What comes immediately to mind when you think of the word "leader"?
Often, it is associated with institutional baggage:
Titles
Ranks
The Org Chart
The Chain of Command
This post explains how, when you are navigating the chaotic middle on behalf of someone else, those structures rarely move people through hard things.
True leadership is not defined by where you sit at the table.
It is defined by two distinctly different traits:
Influence: This is not authority.
It is the ability to shift how someone sees a situation, holds a problem, or understands their own capacity.
Presence: This is not a performance.
It is the ability to be genuinely available to what is happening in real-time, rather than managing how you appear while it happens.
A leader is not the person at the front of the room.
It is the person who stays present when everyone else has gone reactive.
When you are holding the middle for someone else (whether you are a manager during a restructuring or a civic leader holding a community together), presence is an active, demanding practice.
Think about a time someone helped you navigate a crisis.
Did they do it by asserting their rank, or by offering their steady presence?
Consider who in your life or team needs a leader to support them through something challenging.
Where can you offer that same genuine presence to them this week?
I'd love to hear from you!
Let me know in the comments what you're noticing now.
Comments