Lesson Learned: Cultivate leadership throughout your organization as a key component of every career track, even for non-managers.

This blog post is part of a series of leadership lessons that I have learned from 40 years in tech.

Every manager is a leader, but not every leader is a manager. Nor should they be. In simple terms, leadership refers to behavior that amplifies your positive impact by enabling and inspiring others. Most people, especially in tech, do not aspire to manage people, and that is perfectly acceptable. After all, if everyone were a manager, who would carry out the company’s work? However, these individuals can still demonstrate leadership by performing outstanding work, mentoring their teammates, setting a great example, doing work that enables or empowers others, and aligning their actions and conduct with the company’s mission and culture.

I personally advocate coaching leadership through the “positive influence space-time continuum.” I encourage individuals to engage in activities that have a positive influence on their teams and extend across organizations (space) and have long-lasting effects over months or years (time). I liken positive influence to ripples — the larger and more far-reaching, the better. If you are a manager, especially one responsible for career development, you should encourage each of your employees to develop leadership skills to enhance their value as their careers progress.