Every person can be a leader, but every person is different and leads in different ways. Leadership theories, concepts, and approaches manifest in leader behavior, and because the tactics that work for one person many not work for another, the practical application of these ideas offers opportunities to evaluate a leader’s effectiveness and provide time for feedback and adjustment. Kouzes and Posner’s (2017) Five Practices of Exemplary Leaders are foundational principles in leadership modeling, and the behavioral guidance they offer is more concrete than theories and approaches. In fact, Kouzes and Posner asserted unequivocally, “Leadership is not about personality. It’s about behavior” (p. 13), underscoring the truth that behavior is what makes someone a leader. Together, the Five Practices call on leaders to empower those around them.

The Five Practices (Kouzes & Posner, 2017) parallel the relations- and change-oriented behaviors of Yukl’s hierarchical taxonomy of leadership behaviors (2012). Behavior types such as supporting, empowering, and encouraging innovation (Yukl, 2012) carry the same behavioral directives as enabling others to act and encouraging the heart (Kouzes and Posner, 2017). All of these are characterized by sharing power and giving others autonomy, which benefits everyone by generating better decisions, increasing skill development, and feelings of confidence and capability among group members.

I have witnessed these outcomes many times during my tenure in the Junior League of Owensboro. Currently in my seventh year of membership, and serving as Executive Vice President and President-Elect, I can point to many behaviors throughout my involvement that both identified me as, and helped me to become, an effective leader.

When I took on the role of VP of Marketing & Communications in my third year, I advocated for a significant revision to our league’s mission banner, the design of which was not aligned with the parent organization’s brand standards and thus felt very disconnected. At this time we were also struggling to increase our membership. When I asked the president at the time if I could propose revised designs, she was very receptive and asked me to send some examples. Given the autonomy to propose a new design significantly boosted my confidence in my ideas, my peers’ respect for me, and my ability to serve the organization well in that role.

I proposed the design change in terms of both aligning more strongly with our parent organization and elevating our league’s brand identity in order to present a more sophisticated organization to potential new members, helping the entire board to envision the change that elevated branding could create. I offered to create multiple iterations of the banner so that all board members could have input. Everyone on the board appreciated both my initiative and my approach to involve them in the final design selection. By inviting their suggestions and considering their ideas and feedback on the banner design, they felt empowered to be part of the process of shaping our organization’s image (Yukl, 2012). Although all of the marketing and brand design for the league was under the purview of my role, involving the rest of the board made the project a more collaborative one.

Northouse (2022) defined such behavior under his SLII® model as supportive behavior, emphasizing that these behaviors are characterized by “two-way communication and responses that show social and emotional support to others” (p. 110). Both the league president and I demonstrated a supporting leadership style, according to the SLII® model, which has fewer directive behaviors—typically one-way communications such as giving instructions and setting deadlines—and a higher level of supportive behaviors. Because this situation empowered everyone on the board to take ownership of the league’s brand, it facilitated collective learning about the ways in which our league could maintain its unique identity while also remaining visually connected to the global organization.

I have also encountered countless leadership opportunities in my work as a professional photographer. Although I am technically a solopreneur, this business structure relies heavily on building and maintaining many types of relationships. At times I have worked with external image editors and retouchers. Initial interactions are typically directive, task-oriented behaviros—e.g., giving them style directions and establishing timelines (Northouse, 2022; Yukl, 2012). Beyond simply giving instructions, though, I have also built relationships with these contacts by asking for their input on my work and showing appreciation for their expertise. While these kinds of behaviors fall under Yukl’s (2012) definition of relations-oriented behaviors, which are internal, solopreneurship is a unique structure which essentially demands one build an internal team with external contacts, so there is a crossover of behaviors and skills in this kind of situation.

In Yukl’s taxonomy, networking is one of the component behaviors in the meta-category of external behaviors. The advent of social media significantly expanded the landscape for building these external relationships. From connecting with potential team members—in my case, digital techs, retouchers, assistants, etc.—to meeting and working with industry peers, mentors, creative directors, and media reps—these connections have become infinitely easier to make in the past decade. Because many photographers are solopreneurs, these external connections give us the collective power to envision the future of the industry and to challenge its current sociopolitical influence (Kouzes & Posner, 2017).

My experience as a two-time director and organizer of Help-Portrait Owensboro/Daviess County also hinged on strong leadership both internally and externally. I recruited other photographers, retouchers, stylists, and additional volunteers in order to host the event properly. These members became my team, and they looked to me to know what to do, how best to do it, and how to carry out their roles with compassion, as the event was created to serve those locally who had fewer resources for professional photography. In order to create a successful event and a genuine experience for the guests, I fostered relationships with all of the volunteers in order to help build their confidence in their roles. Externally, I worked with the public library, which gave me a space for the event, as well as with local media contacts who helped me publicize the opportunity to target clients. These interactions both built on existing relationships and created new ones.

Leadership skills and behaviors are indispensable in so many areas of life, from home and family to work to volunteerism. Both Yukl (2012) and Northouse (2022) distill leadership skills into three overarching areas: technical skills, interpersonal skills, and conceptual skills, with technical skills involving Yukl’s (2012) task-oriented behaviors and Northouse’s (2022) directive behaviors; interpersonal skills including Northouse’s supportive behaviors, Yukl’s (2012) relations-oriented and external behaviors, and conceptual skills encompassing Yukl’s change-oriented behaviors. Further, all of Kouzes and Posner’s (2017) Five Practices are woven throughout all three of these areas. While my scores on a skills inventory in Northouse (2022) showed interpersonal skills as my strongest area, followed by technical skills and conceptual skills, the relative proximity of all three scores indicated that I am equally capable in all three areas. Though I am different from others as an individual, combining these leadership skills and behaviors with who I am personally uniquely positions me to be a strong and genuine leader in my own right.