Who is an everyday leader? I’m glad you asked. Let’s start by defining what leadership is. Then we’ll do a deep dive into everyday leadership.
Defining Leadership
According to leadership expert John Maxwell, “Leadership is influence—nothing more, nothing less.” This simple definition is profound because it means most people are leaders! If you influence just one person in any way, shape, or form, then you are a leader. Leadership is not reserved for corporate executives. Parents, teachers, mentors, and coaches are everyday leaders. In this post, we’ll examine what everyday leadership is. Then, I’ll share simple musings and examples of everyday leadership.
Keep reading and discover how to make a difference in your world!
Defining Everday Leadership
What is everyday leadership? Because leadership is influence, an everyday leader is someone who extends his or her influence during routine activities of the day. This includes leading at home, work, friendship, and the normal course of life. Everyday leadership is nothing more than acting like the everyday leader you already are. Because most people are already leaders, everyday leadership needs to be discussed more often.
If you influence just one person, in any way, shape, or form, then you are a leader. Share on XMusings on Everday Leadership:
This has been an exciting year with a ton of big happenings! I’ve made new connections and had some amazing conversations. And yes, most of these chats included coffee too. Today, I’m privileged to share a few of these powerful conversations with you!
Last week I had the honor of speaking with Tina Gang from Refreshing 90.9. We spoke about how God loves blended families. We also dove into practical tools that blended families can use to gain some quick wins. Tina is an everyday leader who made a difference in my life. Not only did she allow me to share an important message on her show, but she also cheered me on every step of the way.
Thank you, Tina for making a difference in my life and helping me spread a message of hope to others!
As you will hear in the show, blended family parents are everyday leaders whom God loves dearly. If you live in a blended family home, know that God has entrusted you with the extraordinary responsibility. Your job is to lead and influence your kids and stepkids. So, be sure to lead well, and never take this everyday leadership position lightly.
To hear our full conversation, simply push the play button below!
Friendship, Everday Leaders, and Spiderman
What do friendship, everyday leadership, and spiderman have in common? Find out in this conversation with my friend Etienne.
We dove into psychology, the Bible, my recent books, writing tactics, and my all-time favorite superhero… Spiderman! Listen to the full episode here: The Imperfect Spiderman on The Authors Corner.
An Amazing Review from an Everday Reader
Charles, from This Colleg Dropout, is an everyday leader who knows you don’t need a college education to make a difference. He recently built into my life with this thoughtful feedback that helped me grow as a writer! You can read Charles’ full review here: Coffee Shop Conversations on This College Dropout.
Coffee Shop Conversation on This College Dropout: ‘Coffee Shop Conversations‘ was of interest to me personally because of my academic field of interest (Psychology/Social Work) and its connection to faith. I don’t remember any books that I have read that combined the two in a complementary way before.
Charles, thank you for cheering me on in this writing adventure. Your kind words and encouragement mean more to me than you can possibly know!
Another Everday Leadership Win
Because leadership is influence, you probably have more opportunities to lead than you realize.
Here are some simple ways everyday leaders build into the lives of others. Everyday leaders lead through:
- Kind words of encouragement
- Thoughtful feedback
- A listening ear
- By modeling a positive attitude
- Through offering hope
- With an encouraging smile
More Encouraging Words from an Everday Leader
Chad Gramling is another excellent example of an everyday leader. Chad is a husband, dad, blogger, and author. He leads in both big and small ways. This week, Chad built into my life by leaving this thoughtful review!
Coffee Shop Inspirations on 1Glories: In it, you will find many practical observations, strategies, and concepts that will help you live, love, and lead well within the contexts of home, work, and otherwise. If you’re looking to further develop and refine your personal skills or deepen your relationship with God, yourself, or others, pick this book up and give it a read.
Thank you, Chad, for helping me grow as a writer. I appreciate you cheering me on in my writing journey. You can read the full 1Glories review here: Coffee Shop Inspirations on 1Glories.
Continue the Conversation
As you can see, I am truly blessed! These past few months have been filled with new friends and awesome, real-life coffee shop conversations. I am grateful for these everyday leaders who build into my life, and I am striving to be an everyday leader who does the same.
Now that you’ve heard my thoughts let’s continue the discussion on everyday leadership. Here are some additional questions for reflection and further discussion.
- How do you define leadership?
- What acts of everyday leadership have been especially meaningful to you?
- Who’s life are you building into right now?
- What was your biggest takeaway from this post?
- What thoughts would you add to this everyday leadership conversation?
In addition to being blessed by such great friends, I’d also like to bless you! How can I be of encouragement? Feel free to connect with me via e-mail or in the comments below. As you can tell, I love connecting and having coffee shop casual conversations!
First, who made the Jed-Spiderman cartoon?
In listening to the radio spot, I want to encourage you by saying that you’re very well-spoken and really get your message across with a great blend of professionalism and personal warmth (tough to do)
Also, your willingness (and Tina’s) to be REAL with people – know that it is making a world of difference, far more than educating or instructing alone could ever accomplish. (I dropped her a note, as well.)
Here’s a link to the Fiverr artist who did the Spiderman cartoon. I’ve had it on my, about page” for a while. Etienne discovered it and it made for a fun discussion: https://www.fiverr.com/viser1000/draw-your-superhero-portrait?funnel=3cbc8954-83c7-40c0-af5c-fc542943836e
Thanks for the interview complement. It was fun getting to speak with Tina. I met her though Glenn a while back. I sent her an e-mail with your contact info too 🙂 It would be great for you guys to get connected!