What It Means to Be in Leadership

We tend to think of being a leader as something someone is or isn’t.

But a concept of leadership that focuses only on the individual misses the inherently social nature of being a leader. Leadership is about more than power, it’s about social influence.

Erica discusses what it means to be in leadership, why leadership is social, and why leaders must consider the collective whole.

Listen on your favorite podcast player or keep reading to learn:

• How the common conception of leadership reinforces white supremacy culture

• Why leadership is inherently social

• Why leadership requires acknowledging and working toward the collective good

Towards a Deeper Understanding

On the Pause on the Play® podcast, Erica Courdae (she/her) says that one of the projects that’s happening both in The Pause on the Play® Community and on the podcast, is digging deeper into concepts like interdependence and sharing the experiences, layers, and nuance that goes with them.

Today, she is diving into the concept of leadership.

She says that leadership is often discussed as though it is inherently for men, or as being a masculine-centric trait. And it’s often discussed “as if it is something that you do in just one way, very unilateral, very simplistic, uncomplicated, un-nuance, and that’s absolutely untrue.”

She says that being a leader isn’t something that you are, but is in what you do. “It’s not about you being a leader, it’s about leadership as an action that you take on a regular basis.”

As she prepares her thoughts on the subject, Erica gives the reminder that “it’s not about there being only one example, one definition. This is about exploring what does this now mean for you, and how can it evolve to mean something different for you later?”

Leadership is Social

Erica references an article from Forbes.com, written by Kevin Kruse, titled “What Is Leadership.” She says that a concept in the article that is important to consider is that “leadership is a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal.”

She says that when we focus on leadership as an individual act, it reinforces the individualism of white supremacist culture. Leadership is inherently social, for good or bad.

“The acknowledgment that it is about influence and it is a social act, it’s something that happens in a group; it also brings in the fact that leadership is a responsibility that if you take it on lightly, it can go awry.”

If we recognize that leadership happens within a collective, then the values and ethics of that collective can be infused in its leadership as it brings the efforts of the group towards a goal.

“When we’re talking about leadership through that lens, and we’re able to really process how it is that we are influencing in social settings and social situations, and within communities large and small; we are able to address the efforts that are moving us closer to or farther away from where we want to go.”

This Is a Catalyst

Erica cautions that whenever you’re taking in an article or other information source, that you remember to “take what works, leave the rest, but also utilize it as a catalyst for conversation and for contemplation.”

She continues, “Pause on the Play® is about you taking data, concepts, information and utilizing it as an opportunity to figure out what you can do to be better in any given moment, and to move close towards your chosen goals and outcomes for yourself and others through the lens of your values…This is always about you utilizing this to think for yourself.”

Leadership is for the Collective

Erica moves on to discuss a 1961 article from the Harvard Business Review by W.C.H. Prentice, titled “Understanding Leadership.”

She acknowledges that given its age, it has problematic elements, most obviously in its assumption that leaders are men, but says that there are concepts that are worth considering, even if you don’t agree with them.

“You also learn by witnessing what you don’t agree with…So much of what I have learned over the years was through experiencing or witnessing what not to do.”

In the article, Prentice argues that “Attempts to analyze leadership tend to fail because the would-be analyst misconceives his task. He usually does not study leadership at all. Instead, he studies popularity, power, showmanship, or wisdom in long-range planning. Some leaders have these things, but they are not of the essence of leadership.”

He continues, “Leadership is the accomplishment of a goal through the direction of human assistants.”

Erica says that the key takeaway here is that, similarly to the Kruse article, leadership is fundamentally social.

And that comes back to holding space and learning from what you don’t agree with. “If we are not willing to hold space for that, it is really challenging to be a leader because basically what you’re doing at that point is acknowledging I will lead you to do it my way, and my way only.”

She continues, “Leadership is not just about you, the individual. Leadership is about the collective. You are part of the collective. So it is about you, but it is about you as a part of the collective.”

Ready to dive deeper?

The Pause on the Play® Community is a space where we come together and share with one another what we are experiencing, what we’re feeling, and what we’re doing to be different and do better.

Sharing these stories and experiences gives us an opportunity to connect on a deep human level and be reminded of the hope and the possibilities in humanity. 

Learn more about our community at pauseontheplay.com/community