Organizations
positions of formal leadership may or may not have the influence of natural leadership. In many cases, people who don’t have natural influence can fufill the role of formal leadership.
Role vs. Identity
Role
A role is something you do. The role of a leader is to serve the people and facilitate the process(es) in a specific area of responsibility. A role can be given or taken away. Some people are given formal leadership positions - school teacher, police officer, shift supervisor. People who receive formal leadership may or may not have the natural, easy influence of natural leadership. In many cases, people who don’t have natural influence, natural leadership, often still can fufill a role of formal leadership. Identity Your identity is who you are as a person. Your identity, who you are as a person, cannot be given or taken away by another person. Having a role with formal authority does not change your identity, who you are as a person. Having great authority does not make anyone a great person. Having little or no formal authority does not change your identity, either. Having little or no authority does not make anyone less of a person or a less important person. One of the great dangers of having formal authority in an organization is the risk of perceiving that people’s value comes from their ability to accomplish work in the organization. This applies to our view of ourselves as well as our view of others.
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