What is Untapped Leadership?
How do you define leadership? For each person that reads this post, there is likely a different definition that comes up. There may be some common threads that connect definitions, but everyone usually has a slightly varied version that most resonates for them.
A recent Untapped Leadership newsletter asked:
What exactly happens when you harness your untapped leadership?
How can we create support systems that can witness and cultivate untapped leadership? What would be needed?
What would need to change so that all can lead with energy, authenticity, and clear vision? What would need to be preserved?
A group of C-suite executive women of color said that, when they harness their untapped leadership, they feel “unstoppable, powerful, in the zone, motivated to create change, and at peace.”
So what is “untapped leadership?”
Untapped Leadership is…
Aligning who you are with how you lead. It is shedding expectations to perform a certain way that can feel unnatural or forced, whenever possible. It is being able to work and lead with your most free self because otherwise you are operating with limitations.
Oftentimes, marginalized leaders may put on subtle armor in the form of code-switching, self-editing tone and facial expressions, and minimizing emotional responses to challenging experiences, all in an effort to persist and succeed in professional environments.
When you harness your untapped leadership, you lead authentically, with purpose, and with vision.
Untapped Leadership is…
Exercising contextual agility to purposefully move towards an outcome. There are plenty of leadership books and frameworks out there that offer how-tos and diagrams for leadership that can feel overly-simplified. It sounds nice on paper, but implementing it in reality is a whole other story. That can be especially true if your leadership is affected by larger societal realities (e.g. see this article on how widespread implicit bias is).
When you harness your untapped leadership, you develop a deep understanding of the interplay between you and the systems within which you navigate (i.e. your team, organization, and/or industry). You also understand how your past informs your present, and as a result, your vision of the future, and you appreciate how others’ pasts do the same for them.
When you harness your untapped leadership, you are informed by the nuances and dynamism of the contexts that surround your decisions and you are able to move forward with clarity.
Untapped Leadership is…
Leading alongside a collective. Leadership is a team sport. We have to let go of the concept of the lone leader. The one with all the answers and all the responsibility. Acting alone is a surefire way to miss a lot of potential, both within yourself and definitely within others.
When we lead alongside others, we are more open to the insights and expertise that are very different from us. It is our best attempt at fully understanding the context to make better-informed decisions. We also are able to witness the leadership that exists all around us, not just what is assigned at the top of organizations.
When you harness your untapped leadership, you understand that you have access to communities of resources (aka other leaders!) also navigating this tenuous, uncertain, rewarding, and purposeful journey with you. We’re not at this alone and we’re stronger when we tap into that reality.
So, what happens for you when you harness your untapped leadership?
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