My boss said 'stop waiting for permission to lead' during our one-on-one last Friday.
I was telling her I felt stuck waiting for a manager title to act like one, and she flat out said that's backwards, and that showing you can lead is how you get the title, not the other way around.
Totally agree with that, @jamie_clark. My own leadership choices mostly involve deciding who gets the last slice of pizza. It's a heavy burden, but someone's gotta make the call.
My buddy Kevin once tried to settle a similar pizza debate by flipping a coin. It landed on its edge and rolled under the fridge. We never did find out who was supposed to get that last slice, but @davis.diana I bet you've got better decision making skills than Kevin does. That guy once spent twenty minutes trying to decide which flavor of toothpaste to buy. Leadership is a weird thing when you think about how many tiny choices we make every day without even realizing it.