To lead means to serve…not to be served.
Community service.
Civil servant.
Not demanding servitude.
Service over self.
Leading by example.
That is what it means to lead.
Perish that thought.
It doesn’t boil down to being the loudest voice in the room.
Or to being the first to throw someone under the bus and place blame.
There is something exceptional about common decency.
It’s not a given.
We should all strive for the basic humanity that people take for granted.
That is why you don’t need a desk or a title or a paycheck to be a leader.
Contribute to that society.
We, collectively, have it fundamentally backwards.
We, collectively, can see that by looking at who we hold up.
Who we celebrate.
Who we emulate.
Who we consider role models.
And…who we leave out of those conversations.
Who we neglect.
Who we shun.
We. Are wrong.
And what we consider to be leadership needs to change if we are going to bootstrap ourselves out of any corner we find ourselves in.
Nobody likes to be volun-told.
I get that.
Forced volunteering isn’t the same as service.
It can be homework…and in time that can make you better.
But it doesn’t count as service. It counts as practice, and who amongst us can’t use a little more of that.
This isn’t an excuse to mutiny.
This isn’t a torch to carry against those who are managing you.
Followship is a learned skill.
It takes trust.
How you give that trust is up to you.
But if the person you aren’t following doesn’t know what they are asking of you…if they aren’t struggling with you toward a goal…
…they aren’t your leader.
Contagious commonality.
Not above.
With.
That’s the leader we should all hope to be.
We have been fooled for too long.
By the press.
By elected officials.
By people who would make us believe that representation is the same as leadership.
It isn’t.
Representation is the opportunity to lead, through service.
I don’t care what side of the isle you’re on.
Red, blue or indifferent, we are shotty on leadership.
The elected party, which means all of them, are out for self-service.
The only leadership you can learn from that example is what not to do.
It’s time we all started to pay attention.
This isn’t the same as the problem of too many cooks in the kitchen.
That’s a problem from people wanting control, and in the end more credit.
That also, is not leadership.
Leadership, true leadership, isn’t about credit.
It’s not about power.
It is about shepherding through.
It means taking a seat and retaining silence when it’s called for.
Just the same as it means standing firm and speaking out when needs must.
Silence can as much be a strength as shouting is a weakness.
Knowing the difference makes you THAT person.
Stand firm.
Go forth.
Lead on.