Opportunities To Lead Are Everywhere, We Just Need To Seize Them [#23]

Most people don’t think about themselves as leaders. They think that you need to be a Martin Luther King or a Mahatma Gandhi to call yourself that.

They think you need to have a huge group of followers to call yourself a leader. Or you need a specific title at work to be that person.

I think this is wrong.

Leadership is doing the right thing.

Picking up a piece of trash on a walk through nature, where others would leave it. Speaking up about injustices you observe. Starting a collective with some friends about a cause you are passionate about.

Leadership requires courage.

A problem these days is that many are looking for a “strong” leader to show up and take care of their perceived entitlements of stability & order. Hence, the rise of populist leaders in recent years.

It’s easy to feel powerless these days. Like life is just happening to us—decisions being made, changes unfolding, and we’re just along for the ride.

But here’s the thing: we often have far more agency than we realize.

Especially now.

It is this moment in a crisis cycle when the tide starts to turn because ordinary people stop waiting, start building, and begin cohering into shared purpose.

When many “ordinary” people become leaders.

Historically, we haven’t seen it clearly until after the crisis is over (and when we’re in the crisis, it seems like it will never end), so naming it now is a powerful advantage that our ancestors did not have.

If you’re doing the work of revillaging, building mutual aid, practicing democracy, creating alternative systems of care, protecting the vulnerable, growing food, caring for land, telling the truth, stabilizing a nervous system, repairing relationships, or making art that helps people stay human, all of that is leadership for regeneration.

If you aren’t doing any of these things, start now, wherever you are, whoever you are, with whatever you have. Find others. We are everywhere.

One of the great blind spots in modern life is how many opportunities exist to step up, share our voice, and make an impact. Leadership isn’t just about titles or grand gestures—it’s about taking initiative in the moments that matter.

Taking initiative does not mean being pushy, obnoxious, or aggressive. It does mean recognizing our responsibility to make things happen.

Maybe it’s speaking up against injustice.
Applying for a fellowship or scholarship to fund your idea.
Or volunteering for a community project.
Even something as simple as mentoring a colleague or organizing an event for your neighbourhood can be a form of leadership.

These chances to grow into leadership are all around us, but we have to train ourselves to see them.

It’s not about imposing answers on others but cultivating spaces for yourself and others where new possibilities can emerge.

Here’s a challenge for you:

What’s one small way you could show leadership this week? It could be at work, in your community, or among friends and family.

Happy regenerating,

Jonas