Catalyst Track: How to Lead When You’re Not in Charge // Day Two

This week’s 3-day track comes from the book, How to Lead When You’re Not in Charge, written by Clay Scroggins.

No man or woman is ever fully acquitted of all responsibility. Just as there are inalienable rights, there is such a thing as inalienable responsibility. What this means is that everyone leads something. Everyone is in charge of something—even if it’s just you. Each one of us is responsible for the choices and decisions we make. We must all learn to rightly influence ourselves.

In this 3-day track, Clay challenges us to identify the ways in which we lead, even when we don’t think we are in a position of leadership. He reminds us that we are all always leaders - we are always in charge of our emotions, thoughts, reactions, and decisions.

Perhaps you’ve blamed your boss for poor leadership, or resisted your own leadership capabilities. Regardless of your circumstance, take the next few days to recognize your flourishing leadership. Complete the challenges at the end of the day to help guide your reflection.

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DAY 2: THE HALL PASS

 

The hall pass is a dangerous thing. In school, the hall pass excused any type of behavior. You could be doing whatever you wanted in the hall, and if you held up that pass, you had an out. However, the hall pass does not help us in the end. The hall pass is nice in the moment, but it keeps us from learning things in the classroom that we really need to learn. It keeps us from experiencing what we need to experience to grow. All of us need to be cautious using the “hall pass” in leadership as well.

If you want to grow as a leader, please resist the temptation to use the “hall pass” of having a bad manager. Even if you’re working for a bad leader, at the very least, you can use this opportunity to learn how to avoid becoming the leader you despise when others are working for you in the future. At the end of this chapter, I will offer some thoughts that may be helpful for you. You may be facing one of the toughest questions a growing leader who is not in charge faces: when working for a bad leader, at what point is it time to cut bait and move on? Until then, I want to convince you of a powerful truth that we all need to learn before we go about blaming our managers and excusing ourselves from our God-given call to lead.

 

REFLECT:

There are endless outlets to which we could attribute blame. How have you used blame when avoiding the acceptance of leadership? Share your thoughts in the comments below.