Originally posted by John Todd:
But leadership isn't required for every position, right?
Leadership is required for managers, architects, senior developers but not for rookie developers
(Coincidentally this is one of the topics I was just teaching at MIT last week; I'll give you the same message I gave them.)
Leadership is required of everyone. A mistake is to think that leadership comes from a role, e.g. CEO, project manager, architect, VP. Leadership comes from the actions your take; a leader is someone who influences others and get them to follow in a vision/path/direction. Even the most junior rookie can put forth an idea and convince others of it. Ultimately, if you can't contribute in this way, if you simply wait for others to put forth ideas and do what they say, your value to the team will be limited. Leadership isn't simply about national movements and politics, it's about being compelling sitting around the meeting room and that's something everyone must do.
Even if you fee you are just out of school and lack experience to contribute in that way for 6-12 months,
you should still work on your leadership skills. What makes a good leader? Someone who is credible, passionate, capable, trustworthy, determined, focused, listens to others and incorporates their feedback, etc. What makes a good collaborate (i.e. one who follows a leader)? Someone who is credible, passionate, capable, trustworthy, determined, focused, listens to others and incorporates their feedback, etc. Working on those skills when following the leadership of others will help you develop the skills for when you become a leader.
Personally, I only hire people capable of being leaders, at any level. Any good leader knows you don't lead all the time, but someone who only follows and can't lead, simply won't add much value to my department.
--Mark