The Shortcut to Leadership: Create Impact, Not Permission
You don’t need permission to lead, only initiative.
Most people think leadership is tied to a title. Managers, directors, VPs. They’re the ones who make things happen, right?
Not really. Leadership is a behaviour, not a job grade. You can start leading today by fixing a real pain, helping others win, and creating leverage, whether or not anyone promotes you.
Why Leading Without a Title Matters
Creating impact without authority isn’t just a side hustle, it’s a multiplier. You make other people’s work easier. You speed up processes. You unlock opportunities that might otherwise stay stuck.
The catch? It often means doing more than your role description, pushing past uncertainty, and putting yourself out there. You might feel uneasy at first, wondering if you’re stepping on toes or just wasting time. That’s normal. The people who grow influence learn to navigate that discomfort.
Inspiration: Small Tool, Big Impact at Spotify
At Spotify, one engineer noticed that multiple teams were spending hours every week tracking API errors across different services.
Instead of waiting for someone in management to notice it and tell them to fix it, they built a small internal tool on their own time. It wasn’t flashy, just a simple dashboard that automatically surfaced recurring errors and highlighted where fixes were needed.
The result? Teams across the company cut debugging time by roughly 30%. The engineer became the go-to person for efficiency improvements, not because of a title, but because they made everyone’s work easier.
It’s a small story, but it illustrates the point perfectly: leadership isn’t about a corner office. It’s about spotting friction, taking initiative, and shipping something that actually helps people.
My Personal Story
At one of my previous company, I noticed my team spent hours every week doing a repetitive task that could easily be automated. I thought “Maybe I’m overstepping, but maybe I can make this better”.
So I built a small tool on weekends. Yes, it meant sacrificing personal time. And yes, I doubted if anyone would even use it.
But once it rolled out, the team saved a few hours every week. Colleagues started coming to me with questions on process improvements. I become the person people trusted to find small wins that mattered.
It wasn’t glamorous. It wasn’t a promotion. But it changed how my role was perceived, and more importantly it made a real difference for my team.
How to Start Leading Without a Title
Find an obvious pain and fix it. Start with small, visible wins.
Ship outcomes, not just ideas.
Measure your impact. Time saved, errors reduced. Numbers make the impact more noticeable.
Build allies. Help peers and managers win. Influence is relational.
Speak in business terms. Talk value, revenue, cost savings.
Teach others. Multiple your influence.
Be consistent and humble. Show reliability, and don’t demand credit.
Start Small, Think Big
Influence doesn’t wait for a title. It’s built through action, consistency, and care for the people around you.
Tomorrow, ask yourself: what one thing I could improve or fix that would make a measurable difference for my time?
Small steps compound, start there.
If you want a bit of guidance on spotting high-leverage opportunities or figuring out where to focus your energy, I am open for a short mentorship chats to help people identify practical moves that can multiply their impact. Email me at irwan@macrostack.dev if you want to grab that 15 minutes.