I recently was thinking about how difficult it can be for people to understand the term "leader" as I intend it. In a nutshell, leaders have a vision of what should exist or happen and then motivate and inspire people to join in the innovation or journey. Managers motivate others to conduct the day-to-day status quo properly. On INPE's home page, I've created a "word cloud" consisting of the first several words that come to mind when I think of a "leader".
Please spend some time thinking about this conceptualization and how just these several synonyms convey the idea. Everyone reading this probably knows at least one true leader demonstrating one of these facets. And everyone reading this can develop leadership along one of these facets. We need you to step up when you are ready (and I hope you are ready)!
To save you from trying to identify each of the terms I've included in the cloud, I'll list them below.
Inspirer, Mentor, Convener, Informer, Innovator, Forerunner, Shepherd, Guide, Pioneer, Pacesetter, Influencer, Supporter, Torchbearer, Trailblazer, Luminary, Cheerleader, Rabble Rouser (Seth Godin's term), and Passionista (my term). It's your turn to step up to one or more of these!