There are 2 kinds of leaders, contained leaders and contagious ones.

Contained leaders, as their name states, play it small, keep things to themselves, and normally center on defending who they are and what they have instead of creating an organization packed with other leaders.

Most probably, at one point in your life you have worked, or are now working, with a contained leader. He or she keeps everything very secured, watching over the information they consider valuable, because they truly believe that is where their power and influence reside. If they advance others, it is so as to focus the attention on themselves; everything is about them.

On the contrary, contagious leaders share everything they do and deeply believe that the only way to be absolutely successful in the long run is through developing other leaders like themselves. They acknowledge that the creation of contagious leaders is the right thing to do for their businesses, the only way in which the best companies naturally create more market share, more profits and more return to shareholders, and the only path towards excelling and becoming what every other company dreams of being, a factory of contagious leaders.

But, how is it that a leader comes into being?

-In the beginning, you are an employee; it could be an entry-level one or an executive, but you are just starting with this company thus, you are new. Everyone is just an employee when they start.

-Later on, you become a manager. This is the first opportunity you will have to show your capacity to be responsible for the work of others; it is the first chance you get to attempt to motivate others beside yourself. If you are good at it, and luck is on your side, someone will notice that your skills are as good as the ones of others around you, and they will begin to see you as a leader. If you are very capable of putting out fires and managing crisis, you may also be called a leader.

-After someone tags you as a leader, you have two choices: you can be like the majority and become a forever wary contained leader, or you can decide to be better, be yourself, and become a contagious leader. Unfortunately, this decision is not completely up to you; your organization has a word in it too. If it rewards secrecy, you will have a hard time becoming contagious, but, if the organization acknowledges the power of contagious leadership, you will have a great deal of support to move forward. In case your organization is in favor of the contained leadership model and you are not, you can always choose to leave and look for a company that better suits your ideals.

In the end there is no battle, just a conscious and personal choice to be made.