Leaders: Are You In Position, In Control or Neither?

Have you ever experienced situations in meetings when you see the chairman is leading the meeting but someone else is leading the people?

In such a situation, the man running the meeting is not the real leader. The man running the meeting is in position but the man leading the people is in control. The man running the meeting holds the legitimate position but the man leading the people is the de facto leader.

De facto is a Latin expression that means "in fact" or "in practice" but not spelled out by law. Very often, the word de facto is used to express a person who does not hold a legitimate position but is very influential, controls the situation and leads the people.

A case in point is the formation of the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) governments in 5 states of Kelantan, Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor. It unveiled the role of the former Deputy Prime Minister Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the de facto leader or the real leader of the PR. See this clip on the announcement of the formation of the Pakatan Rakyat.

A real leader holds the power and not just the position, though it may not be legitimate.

Positional leader usually speaks first, influence other positional leaders but counts on the influence of the real leader to move and get things done. On the other hand, real leader speaks later, influences everyone and uses his own influence power to move and get things done the way he desires.

When the real leader speaks, people listen. The irony is people listen not necessarily because of the truth in the message being imparted, but because of their respect for the leader. And this is driven by the leader's character, relationships, knowledge, intuition, experience, sacrifice and ability.

Where are you? In control, in position or neither in control nor in position?