5 of the strangest places your leadership can shine

Of the nearly 8 billion people that exist in the world, only 3.32 billion (43%) of those people are actively a part of the workforce.

If we go just a few steps further and filter out children, and even account for those individuals who have retired, there is still a significant number of people who are not formally and regularly inside of a workplace. But, people who no longer are or who may never have been in a formal workplace setting still inhabit key skills that many people may assume one can only acquire at work: leadership skills.

If you look around you and are open to unexpected scenarios, you’ll uncover a mountain of resources and descriptors that point to the key qualities and characteristics of being a leader. From agility, to balance, to communication, to delegation, and onward through the alphabet, there is a wealth of different qualities that exemplify and model leadership behavior, everywhere.

The word everywhere is essential. Consider just the few qualities that I listed above and ponder this: Is it possible for someone (maybe even you) to exemplify agility, balance, and delegation in their personal life?

Has there been a moment where you’ve had to delegate things out to your children, have a difficult decisive conversation outside of the workplace, or even galvanize a group of people (a team) to get something done personally?

In the spirit of helping you see your opportunities to be an everyday leader, let’s explore five of the strangest places where your leadership muscle can shine and elevate.

Accepting an invitation to stand in a wedding

If there’s one occasion that seems to be recession, weather, disaster, and calamity proof, it’s none other than a wedding. No matter what, people find the money and create the urgency for people to attend their wedding.

While it’s the couples’ business who they might decide to stand in their wedding, there’s something else that’s your business: deciding if you will accept or not. Reflecting on my former life as a wedding and event producer, I understand that haphazardly joining someone’s wedding party could be the difference between a magical day and a messy one.

Your ability to be decisive when you are asked is ironically a key leadership attribute that can serve you well in other parts of your life. Cleary, you have a special role in someone’s life if you’re being asked to stand in a wedding, but you’re not the star of the show, so if you cannot stand in a wedding for any number of reasons, its is suggested that you make the decision as quickly as possible and stick to it. Going back and forth about your potential participation can cause more harm than good for the couple and for an overall wedding experience.

Returning your shopping cart

Consider the last time you went shopping. When you finished, what did you do? Did you return the cart to the designated area or did you unpack your cart and leave it right there in the parking spot next to your car?

When we visit the words ethics and integrity, you may think about congressional oversight, a financial audit, or internal corporate process. I challenge you to think expansively. Your ability to operate ethically shows up in our everyday lives, and sometimes in the strangest ways. At its core, it’s simply doing what’s right, even when no one is watching.

The next time that you find yourself exhaustedly unpacking your shopping cart that was packed to the brim after a long day of work, think twice about what you’ll do with that cart afterward. You might just be refining your leadership skills in the most unexpected and strangest ways by taking one extra minute to return the cart where it goes.

Traveling with a group of friends

Miami. Myrtle Beach. Vegas. Mexico: the staple vacation spots of so many, especially during the younger years in life. While a selfish vacation filled with only the things that you personally might want to do has its place sometimes, group trips aren’t necessarily that.

There’s an opportunity for you to exude a bit of selflessness—might I even say, embrace your inner servant leader? Servant leadership is one of the many leadership styles that you have the opportunity to embrace socially, by listening to what other people want to experience on a trip, displaying humility throughout the process, and being self-aware of how you’re showing up before, during, and even after the trip.

Attending an industry conference

When was the last time that you were at a conference or an event and you found your mind starting to wander? It happens to the best of us. But, oftentimes even after your mind has ventured down a wandering path, you can get it together and start listening, and catch a glimpse or recognize a magical learning nugget that made your visit to this event worth it.

The facts are that the average adult’s attention span is seven seconds, we forget 50% of what was said within a one-hour talk, and we perform an average of 35,000 tasks daily. Our ability to remind ourselves to listen can consistently serve us personally and professionally (and unexpectedly).

Getting feedback on your shoes (or pretty much anything)

What do you think about these shoes?

This is such a simple question that, under the surface, is so much more. Asking about your shoes or pretty much any item gives you the opportunity to be open to feedback which is a valuable tool on your leadership journey. You could even add more depth to the feedback request by asking for specifics: “What do you think about the heel of this shoe?” or “What you think about the color of this pair?”

Getting comfortable with receiving feedback prepares you for the many professional opportunities in front of you, and the more specific that you get with what you’re looking for, the more focused your feedback responses could be.

Your ability to both see yourself as a leader and grow in your leadership journey could be a lot more accessible than you’re making it out to be. Give yourself permission to search for opportunities to strengthen your leadership muscles in your everyday interactions and in some of your life’s most unexpected places.

Jacqueline M. Baker is the founder and principle of Scarlet and author of The Unexpected Leader: Discovering the Leader Within You.