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How frequently do you think more than half the people in the room have raised their hands? It’s been less than 1 percent of the time. That makes me confident in saying that most of the people who work with you and for you are not comfortable calling themselves leaders. That’s a problem, because decisions made by employees who see themselves as leaders are quicker, more creative, and more beneficial to the organization. You don’t have to create more leadership positions to build a better organization – but you do have to increase the number of people who engage in leadership behaviors. Unfortunately, we’re fighting a culture that has taught us from a very young age that leadership is not something to which everyone can or should aspire, and so many people don’t. We internalize the idea that leadership is characterized by a level of charisma, power, money and influence present in only a small percentage of the population, and we’re not one of those select few. It’s a perspective that turns too many people into what I call “I’m just a…” employees. Our organizations are filled with “I’m just a…” employees. “I’m just a cashier”; “I’m just a stockboy”; “I’m just middle management”. It’s likely that each one of us has said something similar about ourselves, or at the very least, what we were attempting to do: “I’m just trying to get through this paperwork”; “we just have to figure out a way to deal with this”. I’ve followed several C-suite executives around for a day simply recording the use of the word “just”. On average they use it 17 times a day. They use it in front of their employees. They used it in front of their kids. By doing it, they teach it.

The problem is, every time we use the word “just”, we’re telling people that who we are and what we’re doing is unimportant. Every time we say we’re “just” something we’re giving people permission to expect less from us. Our lives and workplaces are filled with extraordinary people who regularly diminish themselves in this way, and in the process, many convince themselves that it’s true. As such, I believe that one of the simplest but most powerful things we can do to enhance our personal leadership is to refuse to allow people to diminish themselves in front of us. A commitment to banishing the word “just” from our vocabulary and our workplaces can have a profound impact. After all, in many organizations, the employees who have the most consistent contact with those outside the organization (and therefore play the biggest role in what people think about your organization) are often those who are paid the least. And even those who take pride in their job and recognize they make valuable contributions do not miss the fact that their position has been judged less monetarily valuable. Often, no matter how hard we try, or how little sense it makes, we cannot avoid allowing our sense of self-worth to be tied to where we fall on the spectrum of financial compensation. Each of us can play a small role in helping to counteract that phenomenon, and help ensure that the leadership of those who are too quick to say they’re “just” something is recognized by others, and by themselves. We can’t assume the people who most regularly interact with our customers understand how profoundly important a leadership role they hold in our companies. Recently I was reminded how some of the most powerful impactful people in an organization see themselves as anything but. You see, I’ve been incredibly lucky to be able to travel around the world and share ideas with audiences of all kinds. They’ve included some of the world’s largest and most well-known organizations, representing billions of dollars in sales. Some of those presentations were intimidating. Some were downright scary. But none compared to the day I was invited back to speak at my old high school.

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