Some leaders are self-focused, and some are other-focused. When you think of the leaders who have impacted you, chances are they were focused on positively impacting the lives of others. Great leaders don't focus on elevating themselves. Instead, they focus on elevating others.

The greatest leaders in the past and currently are the ones who have leveraged their power not for themselves, but for others.

What type of leader do you want to be? Do you want to be known for your achievements and accomplishments? Or do you want to be known for the ways you used your strengths and expertise to lift others up, solve challenges, inspire them, or create new products or services to benefit them?

Most people would say the latter. But to make it a reality, intentionality is required. We all have a degree of influence. We all have a privilege we can extend in service to others. We are each blessed with gifting and talents that are meant not for ourselves but to benefit others.

Think about your position, authority, and influence. How are you using them to positively impact the lives of your sphere?  What can you do differently, starting today November 1st, to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those you influence?

One of the organizations I support is CMAT, Christian Mentoring and Transition, a ministry that helps support incarcerated women at the Maryland Correctional Institute for Women which just happens to be located in my town.

It was actually one of the reasons that I did not want to move here 20 years ago.

Yet God in his infinite wisdom and love continues to work in my heart so that now I'm a mentor to one of the women at the facility. Right now that looks like writing letters each month to build a friendship since in-person visits to the facility have been paused due to Covid. It means praying for this woman and encouraging her. Hopefully, through my interaction with her and my witness, she will draw closer to the Lord. It is a privilege to use all my privileges to serve in this way.

I also routinely mentor young black women who cross my path, who I feel will be receptive if I pour into them. I also co-lead a small group every month with a girlfriend called Thrive Together. It is a calling she and I have to create and hold a space for black Christian women in our circle where we can talk about the hard things that specifically impact us, where we can encourage, uplift, and support each other in the challenges of living as a black woman. She and I both share a passion for racial justice and unity and that propels us to minister to the needs of women like us while also holding the vision that this space will energize and nourish us so we can face the life challenges that come our way with a posture of love.

I share these examples to show that how you use your authority, position and influence may be different and that is the point. You are designed and shaped to impact the people you are meant to impact. There is no script here. Just be obedient to the call of your heart and start where you are.

Here are a few ideas to get you started.

1.     Form or become active in a group focused on advocacy, support, and community of a marginalized people group.

2.     Use your platform to amplify the interests, needs, or voices of those you can elevate.

3.     Advocate for women in a marginalized or minority community.

4.     Join the board of a non-profit focused on a need that you feel moved to meet.

5.     Invest in a minority-owned small business.

6.     Choose to mentor an individual who can benefit from your specific lived experience.

You may not see yourself as a leader, but you have the makings of one. To lead, truly just means to influence. So if you can embrace the notion of leadership, think of what you’d want to be known for and consider the impact you’d like to have by the end of next year. To achieve anything, we must start with a vision, an intention, and a plan. Use the last couple of months of this year to position and empower yourself for impact. You got this!