Can we still be leaders outside of leadership positions?

This discussion is based off of the New York Times Article entitled "Not Leadership Material? Good. The World Needs More Followers".
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/24/opinion/sunday/not-leadership-material-good-the-world-needs-followers.html?searchResultPosition=9

This article explains that followers are just as important as leaders. Even if we are not the student council president or captain of a sports team, can we still be considered leaders as teammates or club members? How can we achieve this kind of leadership?

I think that this article has a really important message behind it. I know that sometimes we give all the power to the people that we see as "in charge" but if as followers we never step up, we are destined to fail. Everybody needs to play a role in achieving common goals, that's an important part of leadership. If the people "in charge" are the only ones with the power there is no sense of working as a team, there is no sense of achievement except for that one person. Just because you don't have the title of "boss" or "president" doesn't mean that your work is any less important. And in terms of bosses or presidents, there is no way that they are able to watch over every single individual and help them all. Presidents and bosses need people who are "followers" to help them do their jobs.

I completely agree @meliaw. Leaders would never be able to do their jobs if followers never cared to listen. As important as leaders are in a society to make decisions and solve problems, it is just as important for followers to trust their leaders, and to comply. Take our current societal state for example: no body respects our president. Whilst I myself, do not want to get into the politics of it all, it does show what followers not trusting their leaders looks like, which is not good to say the least.

We can absolutely be leaders outside of leadership positions. As an example, most community leadership begins with ordinary citizens taking up leadership roles and then setting an example for others to follow. There may be a great want in a town for the town zoning commissioner to clear land so the public can use a dog park. Instead of waiting for the town zoning committee to decide if there should be a vote on the issue, a citizen can take a leadership role and petition to the zoning committee with signatures from many other people who want the dog park. Most, if not all, societal and cultural change begins with some small instance of leadership which then blows up into a much larger movement.

I agree with @JosephV. In many instances, leadership on a small scale grows into a much larger mission. One does not have to be in a leadership position to be a leader. It all starts with someone speaking up, and this can be an ordinary citizen. A leader is made in moments. It comes down to who has the courage to speak up and get people behind them.