On big-L and small-l leadership

by Adriana Beal on June 16, 2009 · 0 comments

in Leadership

Leadership doesn’t have to be about supervisory authority, big egos, or the popular myth of the hard-driving, high-living CEO. Business analysts, like other brain-powered workers, function on a knowledge-intensive environment that require a whole new form of leadership, practiced among peers, most often in teams. BAs are used to a delineation of leadership duties among team members that may change as a project progresses and different skills are required to get the work done successfully.

Small-l leadership, explains Robert E. Kelley in his book How to Be a Star at Work: 9 Breakthrough Strategies You Need to Succeed,

has less to do with the power of a job title than the power of expertise, a credible reputation, influence, and persuasion. The small-l leader may run the entire effort or a portion of it in a roomful of coleaders and cofollowers. She may be a leader for a one-hour meeting or a six-month project, but it is clear to her and those who follow that this is a role she is filling temporarily. The small-l leader is a role, not a person, and the workers who assume that role know they don’t own or define the job, as some big-L leaders pretend to do.

Here is a story on small-l leadership that you may find inspiring, both for your professional and personal life:

By Adriana Beal. Adriana Beal received her B.S. in electronic engineering and MBA in strategic management of information systems from two of the most prestigious graduate schools in Brazil. For the past 10 years, she has been providing IT business consulting services to a diverse client base, including major U.S. financial institutions. She is the Lead Business Technology Consultant at 2wtx.com, a small agency offering web optimization and business analysis resources, and ThinkBRQ, a NY-based IT consulting firm. View more blog posts by Adriana Beal

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