From the moment each of us wakes up until we lay our head on the pillow at night we are leading. We lead our children as we get them ready for their day at school. We lead our peers at work. We lead throughout our daily interactions with suppliers, contacts, the local person who makes deliveries to our offices, serves lunch, makes us a cup of coffee at our favorite coffee house, checks us out at our grocery store, where ever we do business, or interact with others we are constantly in a position to be a leader.
So how are you leading?
A leader has influence over other and must have integrity, character, trustworthy, humble, see the opportunity, be ready to learn, and adhere to values based on a solid foundation. That’s a pretty tall order. We have all known leaders who lacked many if not all of these, haven’t we and yet they were leaders who have enormous power over others and even lead nations.
To be a leader is to have great responsibility, because others are looking up to you and watching you at all times. If you have a family, little eyes from birth are always looking at you even when they cannot speak, they are observing and listening to everything you do and say and your words and actions have a direct impact on those tiny bodies.
If you are an educator, coach, or in some other manner influence young people they are also being influenced by your actions, words, and decisions and your suggestions and you hold great power over them, use this power with great caution, because they put you in a place of honor
Perhaps you hold a position in your community, in local politics, in your local place of worship or other area where you are visible to your peers, be above reproach. All eyes are watching and all ears are listening to everything you say and do. You live in that glass bowl. Take your position seriously and if you find you cannot live up to the demands and you faultier, it better to set aside than to stay and try to fake it.
Leaders are not perfect. Sometimes are greatest learning opportunities are when we lose something. And even then we do not learn unless we are ready to learn. Our losses present us with a unique opportunity to learn. Leaders must be humble. Leaders must also continue to grow in other words they must be teachable. If a leader thinks they know all there is to know, then they cease to be relevant, current and they are dead. When you stop growing, you cease being useful! Do not fall into this trap.
Today, look at what you did as a leader and do a self evaluation. Ask yourself this: “How did I lead?”
