“The adventure of life is to learn. The purpose of life is to grow. The nature of life is to change.  The challenge of life is to overcome. The essence of life is to care. The opportunity of life is to serve. The secret of life is to dare. The spice of life is to befriend. The beauty of life is to give.”

― William Arthur Ward

 

This week I want to continue our discussion on leadership. Last week we talked about the quiet leader (Quiet Leadership) and that in all of us is a leader; by being true to ourselves (The Language of Your Soul) and to those around us we lead through simple acts that are brave and courageous—and touch people’s lives. All too often leaders are thought to be these great beings, exalted and revered.

A lot of what is written about leadership and how to be a great or effective leader is in the context of making decisions in challenging times and taking charge, or putting oneself on the line—so much so that we confuse leaders with heroes having super powers. This is pretty daunting! And makes some of us look for hints and to-do’s on being a leader and to try to emulate someone else who we think is a great leader; and can even make some of us shy away from embracing the leader in ourselves.

First, let’s start out by saying there is no such thing as a universal leader—there is no one model that if followed will make someone a strong or effective leader. Leaders are in all walks of life, and they do not share the same traits. As unique as you are, is as unique the leadership qualities and traits you possess. These qualities and traits are interwoven into the fabric of you—catalyzed by your experiences, wired into your soul’s purpose and exhibited in the current space and time in which you are.

Your inner leader is fueled by what you really believe in and what you are trying to do, the difference that you make in the world and how you impart this so it is contagious. And this does not have to be on a large scale or one to many—sometimes it is as simple as one to one, and that one to one—since it touched or inspired another—is passed on to others through more one to ones. And most times, strong leaders are the “unexpected ones”—those who aren’t trying so hard to be leaders! They just are.

Most of us—the leader we are and the leaders that touch our lives—don’t have any formal leadership role or title. If we have titles they are titles of teacher, friend, mother, father, etc. Leaders are often people in our daily lives and even those put on our path for a brief moment that leave a piece of themselves with us—and sometimes we don’t even notice in that moment, until we are grown or in a place and time dealing with a challenge that we take the piece to help us lead.

Today let’s start to embrace the leader in ourselves and recognize the authentic leaders who day in and day out add value to people’s lives. Let’s celebrate the unexpected leader who works quietly behind the scenes keeping people they work with and live with—in the communities in which they live and function—motivated, inspired, hopeful, calm, informed, educated, comforted and loved. Let’s embrace the leader in us and among us who takes the time to really listen, to be in the moment, to lend a helping hand, that provides wisdom and gentle guidance. Let’s appreciate the leader who knows when to step aside or follow.

Let’s recognize and accept that all of us—and the leaders we are—make mistakes—and forgive and learn from mistakes or missteps. Let’s celebrate the unexpected leader who comes out from behind the scenes to protect others, to advocate for values and beliefs—who inspire others for broader support for noble missions and purpose.

We have so much to learn from each other as leaders and the unexpected leaders who quietly guide and influence people and make our world a better place.  We all benefit from embracing that we all have different ways of thinking and communicating and how we approach the world. By having open minds and hearts we can see things in new ways and be inspired and inspire—and lead.