Ready [ in-duh-vij-oo-uhl ] [kuhn-trib-yuh-ter] 1

Individual  [ in-duh-vij-oo-uhl ] – a single human being, as distinguished from a group.

Contributor [kuhn-trib-yuh-ter] – a person who contributes money, assistance, etc.

Let’s put them together shall we?  A single human being, who contributes money, assistance, etc…, feels under appreciated don’t you think?

I originally began writing on this subject with the sales professional in mind and then thought, that’s too exclusive.  You see, all individual contributors, regardless of SIC, deliver the goods for organizations daily.

There is lots and lots of attention paid to leaders these days.  When I hang out with my peers, we all, generally speaking, focus on leaders, leading, leadership. And since we tend to carry expertise in areas specific to how we came up professionally, we might even specify which type of leaders.  

And the individual contributor? Or IC as we tend to refer to them in today’s acronym-fest. When we do address them, it’s usually as a group which is weird because the definition of an individual specifically states ‘as distinguished from a group.’  WTH??? 

Some of my most memorable and fulfilling moments as a coach have been working with ICs in 1:1 or individual engagements. ICs do want more for themselves, and their families. Look I love leaders, I do; I love talking leadership.  And I don’t want to ignore the IC as the individual they truly are, and the leader they have yet to realize.

I frequently ask an IC if they are a leader since no one reports to them.  Many, most actually, don’t see themselves as leaders.  Yet, you, IC are.  According to the Co-Active leadership model (CLE), all of us are leaders from within. From the moment we wake, we are leading ourselves through our lives, making decisions, setting intentions, reflecting on our successes and failures, interacting with other ICs and leaders, and our families and friends and strangers to move forward each and every day.

The Co-Active Leader within:

• Lives with integrity and nourishes self-acceptance and self-authority.
• Takes full responsibility for personal impact within a relationship, project, and organization.
• Disregards self-limiting beliefs.
• Understands and honors personal values and purpose.
• Creates “meaning” from all experiences – from the workplace to personal life.
• Clarifies what matters most, and commit to making it happen.

In the coming months of the new year, I am shifting to focus more on you, Individual Contributor.  Yours is the element of success that demands more attention. It demands more of you, from you and with you.  We talk to leaders constantly about what we want them to be and do with you.  Seems you should have a say, don’t you think?  

“Hello Individual Contributor.  If you’ve made it this far, then curiosity and awareness are two of your superpowers. Ready to go to the next level?  Consider the wild idea of investing in you! New programs are available! Why wait any longer?!?  Here’s a link to start creating that discussion right now!”