Leadership is not the sole domain of people managers

I was talking with a very experienced designer about leadership recently. We had crossed paths again after some years and were sharing stories. As we chatted, the designer began describing the limited career paths at their current organisation and spoke about ‘moving into leadership’.

I was perplexed. This designer had been directing sizeable design initiatives and oversaw the design guidelines for their team. When I enquired further about this leadership change it transpired that they meant ‘moving into management’.

Leadership is not the sole domain of people managers. Leadership is about how you view the world and then embody that to inspire others through this vision. It is not a management checkbox or a byproduct of one’s job title.

Intellectually this makes sense. We frequently see leadership expressed by non-managers on the sporting field, through journalism and in the arts. Yet many pockets of the business sphere have adopted hierarchical structures in which only people managers are recognised as leaders.

We would never say that sportspeople such as Simone Biles, or artists such as the late Margaret Olley, are not leaders simply because they have no one reporting to them. So let’s become aware of our beliefs about leadership in the business world, for in that awareness we can create change.

Terrarium with growing plants and two openings

APQC finds that about 10% - 20% of staff at a given company are people managers. If we believe that 80% - 90% of employees offer no leadership, will we look for good ideas from across the whole team? Will we we use the deep expertise of craftspeople to innovate? Will we value the product insight of those who field customer support calls every day?

And if we are the craftsperson, the hands on technician, the writer of code, the 80% - 90% of non-managers - how do we feel inside an organisation that explicitly or implicitly views our role as ‘not leadership’?

In reality non-managers in companies lead all the time. That designer who persistently speaks with users and gains buy-in to fix their pain points - that’s leadership. That systems architect who creates a lower-cost tech stack for a scaling SaaS business - that’s leadership. That supermarket employee who directed me to a faster checkout as they spontaneously implemented load balancing with cardboard signs during the holiday rush - that’s leadership.

It is time to recognise the way so many employees lead, the way you lead, whether one manages people or not. In that recognition we can create opportunities, foster skill development and expand career paths for all those pursuing leadership, whatever their role.

If you practice leadership, if you build leadership skills - you are a leader.

And more than ever, the world needs you to lead.

Back to Writing