I am definitely a leader by nature – it’s how I’m wired, but I can easily follow when being led by someone who is qualified and doing a good job. How about you?
I think the term leadership is overrated in a sense, because everyone is a leader in some way. We’ve also all followed someone at some point in our lives.
Think about it – when you were young – you had people you looked up to. These were the leaders in your life at that time.
It could have been a police officer or fire fighter, your parents, that one old guy at church who always went out of his way to say hi to you despite the fact that you were an annoying middle schooler, or the lady at the grocery store who saw you struggling and helped you reach things on the high shelf. All of these folks were leaders in your life, whether or not you (or they) realized it.
Take the police officer or fire fighter for example – by mere nature of their jobs and perhaps the uniform they wear, they tended to exude “respect” and “leadership” in the community. While some might disagree these days (unfortunately, and a topic for some other blog), when I was growing up, everyone I knew looked up to these first responders as strong examples of leadership.
The old guy at church. For the record – he wasn’t a creeper – he was just a thankful and gracious older man who had been through a lot of ups and downs in life and recognized the power of simply acknowledging that a middler schooler exists as a fellow human being. Imagine the wisdom this older gentleman could pass on to this young child, simply by saying hi and befriending the kid!
The lady in the market – she wasn’t doing anything special, other than recognizing a need and taking the initiative to help out. This is kindness in action.
You see, each of these examples was a human being modeling something for other human beings. Whether through innate characteristics and cultural norms/expectations (first responders), or just by being nice and showing others that everyone has value in society and you can help others out at any age. All of these folks represent leaders and leadership.
Next time you ponder leadership, I encourage you to consider that someone is always watching you. How are you leading them? Does your attitude, willingness to help others, initiative, ability to submit to the leadership over you and follow when appropriate, selflessness to see a piece of trash and actually pick it up – whatever it m ay be – does your life model good leadership?
Are you fighting with everyone all the time, complaining, negative, mean, hurtful toward others, unwilling to help? Unfortunately, the same someone is still out there watching you, and you’re also leading them in some way.
Let’s be mindful of who we are and how we are leading others. Let’s stick to our laurels and standards while also keeping a small dose of grace in our toolbox, too, because no one is perfect. We all have lots to learn, to offer, and to teach others in life!
It's Technically Possible 