When It Comes to Leadership, One Size Does Not Fit All

“The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.”  

—Jim Rohn, American entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker 

If you were ever tasked with babysitting a younger sibling, you know that leadership usually triggers two different reactions.  

There’s yes, I’m in charge! Or ugh, I’m in charge, and it doesn’t change as you get older.  

Leadership is a complex art. You have to know how to talk to the people you’re leading, how to find different routes to your goals, when to encourage and when to censure. Hence, why there are good leaders and bad leaders. The only difference between them is that good leaders usually understand how to carry their power and influence with grace.  

However, there is a misconception that leaders tend to be one kind of person: outgoing, educated, assertive and coordinated. It’s a rather narrow view of leadership. Realistically, many different people have leadership qualities and, by leaning into their individual strengths, have made incredible contributions to the world.  

After all, the word leader itself comes from the Old English word 'lædan' meaning 'to go before as a guide'. How many people do you know that can and have done exactly that? 

In honor of that history, we’ll go over some of the best leadership traits and suggest some resources so you, too, can become the great leader you were meant to become (and if you want to use these resources to tell your siblings what to do, even better!).  

Fill a Niche 

Leaders come in all shapes and sizes and usually appear in multiple industries. It doesn’t have to appear strictly in politics or business. There are leaders in fashion, cake baking, bricklaying, and glass work.  

As the old adage goes, “leaders aren’t born, they’re made.”  

That’s all too true, and ties into the first hurdle most leaders face: creating a new path. Sometimes this comes in the form of solving a problem in a creative way no one else had ever thought to try. Other times, there isn’t a problem to “fix” at all. Instead, leaders find a path of innovation.  

Take Dr. Marie Curie, for instance, first (and only) winner of two Nobel Prizes in separate categories. Curie’s discoveries led to modern understanding of how radiation could be used in medicine-namely to fight cancer. No one, before this point, had seen the lack of knowledge about radiation as a problem. Atom bombs would not be created for another forty-seven years, and scientists mostly saw radiation as something that could not be molded or used.  

Curie pioneered a new way of thinking, and namely, discovered new elements that would go on to save thousands of lives. This kind of engineering is most seen in technological fields, but chemistry and education also see these sorts of leaders crop up often.  

In the nonprofit field, these leaders are key.  

It is easy to get stuck in a rhythm of operations, policies and programs. Those things are complex enough as they are, and if it’s not broke, why fix it, right? On the other hand, if we do what we always did, we’re always going to get what we’ve got.  

Georges Clement, the Executive Director and Co-Founder of JustFix.nyc. The organization specializes in equipping tenants and the housing justice movement with the technological tools and information to advocate for their rights as renters. The idea and movement itself are not new.  

Tenant rights and housing advocacy were both written into the Bill of Rights themselves itself. After all, you’re protected from the government barging into your house, and the military confiscating your pool for staging operations via the fifth and sixth amendments.  

However, combining technology and organizations to protect those who have fallen victim to systematic and racist houselessness? That’s a niche and a tool often ignored. Sometimes, it just requires digging a little deeper into those rule books.  

Build Other Leaders 

According to Gallup, the characteristics of a good leader include building trust, a willingness to listen and encouraging your followers to use their strengths toward a common goal.  

Whew. Look, no one ever said it was going to be easy.  

But take a second look. Don’t we all know a mentor or teacher who embodied these exact traits? Preschool teachers excel at these skills! Doctors, lawyers, engineers, architects must all build a relationship of mutual trust and reliance between them and others. 

In an office setting, we often refer to these set of attributes as “an open door” policy, making yourself readily and warmly available to anyone who would like a word.  

If that doesn’t sound like a “successful” (read: rich and influential) leader you know, that’s because they are most likely swept away in history, but they still make history. Take for example Adbaraya Toya (otherwise known as Victoria Montou) a Dahomey warrior who was taken into slavery in the 1700s.  

Upon arriving in Haiti, she later taught a young slave boy battle strategy, community rallying, and fighting techniques. That boy was Jean Jacques, who would later lead the 1791 slave rebellion, which ultimately led to the revolution and independence of Haiti.  

While it sounds more like an action movie, Adbaraya Toya must also have demonstrated the skills above to not only secretly train Jacques to become a freedom fighter but provide healing services across the island. Let that image replace the standard and droll visage of an “open office door.” 

It’s important for leaders to take time to encourage and build-up other leaders, whether that be in this generation or the next. While it’s not probable that anyone will become Haitian freedom-fighters in the U.S. nonprofit field, it’s an established fact that no one gets anywhere alone.  

Opposed to leading from a “top-down” model, consider using a “parallel journey,” one, where your work as a leader is to keep other leaders going along their best tracts. With compassion, open communication, and trust, it is probable that not only will you find this leadership comes easier, but that other leaders start popping up everywhere! Now that’s the revolution we want to see!  

Join Our Workshop 

By this time, you’re probably wondering what all of this has to do with you. Well, we’re hoping that this blog will go before you as a guide. There are dozens, maybe millions, of beautiful and useful traits leaders can embody. Leaders can be introverts, extroverts, women, men, non-binary, tall, short, young, or old!  

If you’d like to expand on the strengths you already possess with some extra resources, we have a course in Leading with Emotional Intelligence coming up in May!