#davesdailychallenge (71): Leading Your Peers. Leadership of the people that you are close to, your peers, is one of the most difficult leadership challenges you’ll ever face. You could find yourself in this position for a number of reasons. Perhaps you are a part of an organization where leadership positions rotate and it’s now your turn. Perhaps you were just promoted to lead the team that you were a part of yesterday. Perhaps it’s a temporary project that you’ve been selected to lead and within a set amount of time you will return to the team you’re now leading in order to accomplish a specific goal. The examples and challenges are endless but thankfully the solutions are not. You must learn to lead by influence, either direct or indirect, depending on the person and the situation at hand. You must approach your entire leadership practice with an open mind and an open ear and lots of empathy. You might be the official leader of your team but trust in your team members to all step up their games. As the leader you must understand that you have ultimate ownership over the results you deliver. Many leaders, too many, take a more authoritarian approach to leadership, especially when they’re operating in a situation with a lot of uncertainty. Rarely in the professional world, or personal for that matter, is it advisable to lead by a strict dictatorial manner. Even in the circumstances where a more forceful or “no-nonsense” approach is necessary I would never recommend you make this a part of your permanent personal leadership ethos. It results in team members willing to do only as much as it takes to not get in trouble. Instead, focus on the aforementioned lessons of influence, empathy, and respect. Ensure you and your team have what they need to succeed and then support your team 100%. Keep the challenges that they will face in the forefront of your mind and deliver, deliver, deliver. It is possible to lead your peers, deliver value and results, and still emerge a well respected person to your friends afterwards. Good luck my friends!