Leading from below
Build up your credibility and use it only when it really matters.
This may be the most difficult type of leadership.
There will be situations where you are a team member on paper but, for whatever reason, you have insight or experience that is equal to or even exceeds that of your team’s leaders.
In situations like this, you may find that you frequently disagree with leadership’s direction, decisions, tactics, or other aspects of the team’s work. You may feel a strong urge to express those opinions, but you’ll mostly want to resist that urge.
Reserve the times to talk with the leadership team for when you are substantially opposed to their plan because you’re concerned it will cause significant issues down the road. And when you do share that sort of feedback with them, be sure to privately correct, publicly praise; that principle applies here as much as anywhere else.
The best way you can lead from below is to only try to lead in situations where you are concerned about a bad outcome. If you are constantly offering input, nitpicking, and otherwise trying to insert yourself into the leadership process, you will eventually be ignored.
“The Boy Who Cried Wolf” is a cautionary tale here. You don’t want to offer input so frequently that you are ignored the one time it actually counts.
Build up your credibility and use it only when it really matters.