I recently attended a meeting of my mastermind group in Las Vegas. They're a group I've been meeting with for the past two years. Those meetings have always been a phenomenal experience for me... experiences that helped me catapult my business from struggle to success. This latest meeting, however, truly changed my life. I had the extraordinary experience of enjoying two days with like-minded colleagues in the most powerful, authentic mastermind I've ever attended.

So, you may be wondering what was so different about this one? Well, let me tell you.

This mastermind had no leader. It was the first one I've been to that was a result of a group of individuals coming together on their own accord to support each other. Nobody got paid; nobody was responsible for the group; nobody was "in charge." And, it was pure magic... which brings me to the first gift Las Vegas taught me about business.

Gift #1: Show up as a leader.

You may be wondering how my weekend in Las Vegas even occurred when nobody was in charge. Here we were; a group of 10 entrepreneurs from across the United States and Canada, sitting in a meeting room in Las Vegas having some of the most powerful conversations of our lives... and nobody was in charge. So, how'd it happen? How did we orchestrate such an undertaking if nobody was at the helm? The secret is... we were ALL leaders.

So now, you may be wondering... if we were all leaders, how did anything get done? How could we be productive with ten leaders at the helm? You'd think it would be mayhem. But, it was the exact opposite. It was easy, calm, fun and totally 'in the flow.'

The key to this was that everyone showed up as a leader... but, not in the same role at the same time. For example, two people worked together to negotiate the hotel contract, another person worked on the agenda, I coordinated our "night on the town" (where we danced our hearts out until 4:00 in the morning), someone else kept time during the meetings, someone else conducted a round-table conversation about our accountability/buddy system, someone else brought the movie "The Moses Code" for us to watch together, someone else facilitated our closing, etc. Everyone contributed their piece exactly as it was meant to be. The whole experience was 100% perfect. We were all in charge... and we were all changed.

What I'm taking away from this, and what I want you to consider for yourself, is that you ARE a leader, even if you're not in a designated leadership position. As an entrepreneur, you have built-in leadership skills, so use them outside of your own business. Be willing to step up, to chip in, to do your part as an individual... for the good of the WHOLE.

As I spoke with Donna (my Online Business Manager) for our weekly meeting, she asked me why it was such a profound weekend for me. And, the answer somewhat surprised me when I said it, but the most profound piece of the weekend was that as I experienced everyone showing up as a leader... everyone taking responsibility, everyone knowing when to step up (and when to step back)... I couldn't help but imagine what our world would be like if everyone showed up as we did, as leaders working together for the good of the whole. We'd live in a different world if this were the case.

So, I invite you to take a look at the groups you belong to, the communities you participate in, the teams you're a part of... and see if you can contribute more as a leader, not for your own sake but for the sake of the highest and best good of everyone involved.

Copyright (c) 2008 Christine Kloser