What image comes to mind when you hear the word “leader”? I grew up in a home full of athletes, so I immediately think of a coach or the captain of a team. You may picture someone in a pressed suit occupying an executive suite, a politician talking to a camera, a pastor pacing the platform at the front of a church, or a general giving a military briefing.
Leaders are often portrayed as the big, the strong, the powerful. These are certainly people that others look to for guidance and direction, but that depiction of leadership is too narrow. The leaders who make lasting impressions on the world aren’t necessarily the ones who make the biggest splash. They may not be aggressive and authoritarian, possess wealth or fame, or have mind-blowing numbers of followers on social media platforms.
Leaders who make the most lasting impressions are the ones who care about others. They invest in people because it’s the right thing to do. They’re kind. They provide a vision, point to a pathway, inspire growth or change. They make choices to empower people and lead them to better ways of doing things. They celebrate others and have an impact that grows over time, reaching beyond them to colleagues, family, friends—maybe even to people they’ll never know.
I invite you to be that leader—the one who sets good things in motion.
*Excerpt from RIPPLES: be the leader who sets good things in motion, by Jayme Durant.
Featured image by Ivana Cajina on Unsplash
