Free The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable on Real Success in Business and in by Robin Sharma Page A

a victim and to start presenting yourself as a leader. That really is the ultimate choice you have beforeyou now, Blake: victimhood or leadership . Flip the switch. And always remember that the personal authority that comes automatically when you express your four natural leadership powers has so much more influence and impact on the people around you than does the formal authority that comes with a title.”
    “All absolutely fascinating, Anna.”
    “The Lead Without a Title philosophy is all about the democratization of leadership,” she continued. “In this remarkable time, every person alive can now become a leader at their work and inside of their lives. This is the first time in the history of humanity that each one of us has had this opportunity. And it’s only happened because so many of the traditions of business and society have been torn down.”
    “Demolished actually,” Tommy contributed.
    “True, Tommy. And so now leadership’s become democratized. Any one of us can show leadership. That’s an incredibly exciting thing to witness, Blake, people waking up to their natural power to lead and stepping into their highest way of being. It’s an amazing time to be doing business in!”
    “I’m really starting to understand that, Anna,” I responded.
    “Each one of us can now be a force of one and assume responsibility for creating exceptional results at work—and building a world-class organization that will make a world-class contribution to customers, communities, and the larger world outside of it. No one’s unimportant, Blake. There are no extra people alive today. Every person and every job matters, and all work can be made meaningful with the Lead Without a Title philosophy. By the way, did you know that if by your shining example of personal leadership you inspire ten people each day to play at their absolute best, by the end of only four weeks you’ve positively influence and elevated the lives of three hundred people?”
    “Very cool. I’ve never thought of that. And I definitely don’t need a title to do that.”
    “Right. And if you keep doing that, at the end of your first year, you will have impacted the lives of over three thousand people.”
    “Wow.”
    “Wait, it gets even better,” Anna interjected enthusiastically. “At the end of ten years of consistently Leading Without a Title and engaging ten people a day to be excellent through your good example, you will have touched more than thirty thousand people. And if each one of them, in turn, influenced just ten more people, you will have left your mark on over one quarter of a million people in a single decade . So yes, society sees me as a simple housekeeper who cleans dirty rooms. But I see myself as someone who has the responsibility for inspiring over a quarter million other human beings to realize their natural leadership power and, in so doing, step into the fullness of their humanity. That’s well beyond just a job for me, Blake. It’s become my calling. And nothing in my life makes me happier.”
    “Simply incredible,” was my most honest response.
    “And I should share with you that I believe that the single best move any organization can make—whether the organization is a business or a not-for-profit or a government or school or even a nation—is growing the leadership potential of every single one of its constituents. Leadership is not only the most powerful competitive advantage for companies—it really is the ultimate tool of our current age to apply if we want to build a better world.
    “But, as Tommy said, we can’t be making excuses if we want to become authentic leaders,” Anna mentioned forcefully. “No excellent leader ever got to the lofty platform they reached by feebly clinging to fear-filled excuses. Victims live by excuses—and ultimately die by them. And generally speaking, people who are superb at making excuses are usually not superb at doing much else.”
    My mind drifted back to the two