The column "Leadership Whiteboard" provides a short visual leadership coaching moment. It introduces and explains a new sketch in each issue, provides leadership coaching for further development, and shares a leadership quote and recommended book.

How to Lead When You're NOT the Leader

With over 50,000 readers of ONE Magazine, it’s safe to say most readers are not the “big boss.” Every person, regardless of position, answers to someone: a board, a boss, or the people served. If you disagree, disregard them and watch what happens. So, how can you make a difference if you do not make the final decisions? The following series of eight DON’Ts and ten DOs will help you lead when you are not the leader.

DON’T

• Don’t think you’re the only one with good ideas; collaborate with others.
  

• Don’t position yourself; position the organization.
  

• Don’t let your idea or ego cloud out the bigger picture.
  

• Don’t undermine the team by tearing down the boss or a peer.
  

• Don’t appear needy or entitled when entrusted with bigger tasks or greater results.
  

• Don’t distance or disavow yourself from failed ideas; own it as a team in success and failure.
  

• Don’t repeatedly revisit a decision already made.
  

• Most of all—don’t lose the trust of your boss.

DO

• Do attend meetings ready to take notes, prepared to offer researched input.
  

• Do ask thoughtful questions seeking information and options.
  

• Do listen as others share, trying to understand their views rather than argue for your solution.
  

• Do connect with others on a personal level rather than just on a professional one.
  

• Do focus on the bigger picture as the boss shares and not just the process of getting there.
  

• Do share ideas in a positive manner rather than with a condescending tone.
  

• Do cultivate team spirit and collaboration.
  

• Do learn from an outside network of peers and leaders.
  

• Do trust and support the boss’s decision even when it was not your preferred way.
  

• Do talk with your boss privately when a bigger decision crosses a closely held principle.
  

Not being the boss leaves no excuse to be ineffective. The proverb holds true, “Being a leader doesn’t require a title; having a title doesn’t make you one.”

About the Columnist: Ron Hunter Jr., Ph.D., is CEO of Randall House Publications.