“One thing leads to another.” (Unknown)
Knights of the round table. That’s what I thought as I sat and looked at the faces of the other people sitting at the massive, round table. King Arthur was all my overwhelmed brain could come up with as I scanned the room full of marketing and film executives and C-suite organization leaders.
My next thought was Why am I here? And a million variations of How did I get here? Is this real?
My company was in the initial stages of developing a film series, and I was the newly hired manager of the project. This was my first day on the job, and I hadn’t even been briefed yet. So, there I sat, with the knights of the round table, feeling like a huge imposter.
You may have had a similar experience. You found yourself in a leadership position through a promotion, or you’re starting a new and challenging career, or you’re now in charge of a business, department, or section. You’re making decisions, creating budgets, managing projects, and directing people. And echoing through your mind you hear the whispers of inadequacy saying you’re an imposter who doesn’t belong here.
I hope this book will dispel those doubts and fears. I want you to know that you have everything you need to accomplish the tasks you face and make a difference that impacts others. As we walk through the challenges of leadership together, I think you’ll find you’re more than adequate for the job. In fact, you’re right for this position of leadership, this new place, this new way to touch lives. You’re there for a reason, and you’re looking for the best ways to lead because you have a heart for others.
As I sat at that meeting with the round table knights, I flashed back to the first day of my high school senior year. Our faculty had selected some students from over 2,000 on campus to participate in a newly formed experimental class. I was one of those students. The goal: explore what it takes to be a leader.
It wasn’t like any of our other classes. We didn’t do a lot of paperwork or reading. Instead, we discussed, worked together, and headed up a variety of community projects. We talked about philosophical issues and examined the value of humanity. We played games that involved decision-making and teamwork.
We interacted with local heads of businesses and nonprofit organizations. We considered leadership requirements, studied the practices of influential leaders, and debated what a leader is. It’s been too long for me to remember the details of the topics or the conclusions we reached about the issues we explored. But I can tell you what I’ve learned since that class, when we as fledgling leaders examined what it takes to make a great one.
What is a leader? Simply put, a leader is someone who cares about others and invests in them. A leader recognizes others’ gifts, develops and empowers them to use those talents, and unleashes them to impact others with what they uniquely bring to the world. A leader inspires and motivates others to achieve things both independently or with a team and to rally around a common mission. A leader is someone who not only inspires followers but creates leaders.
Professor and author Brené Brown says, “I define a leader as anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes, and who has the courage to develop that potential.”1 Author and inspirational speaker Simon Sinek says, “It’s all about taking care of those in our charge.”2 And speaker and blogger Marg Mowczko points out that leadership isn’t about wielding authority and power. She says this about Jesus, the greatest leader of all time:
Jesus teaches against the worldly systems of authority, and where he proposes a social system that is quite the opposite of what we are accustomed to. Jesus especially warns against notions of power, prestige, and primacy among his own followers. In Jesus’ kingdom, the humble are exalted, the lowly are the greatest, and the last are first.3
Mowczko reminds us that Christian leadership is “about being a servant.”
Many books about leadership offer advice for implementing business management principles, creating graphs and spreadsheets, or devising corporate strategies. Readers might learn about exercising control, staking territorial claims, or safeguarding the power to make decisions. For some, life is a game of corporate thrones, and succeeding is the only goal.
But exploiting a position for personal gain isn’t an effective motivational leadership technique.
This book is about being a different kind of leader. It’s about being an empathetic person who uses their position to benefit others.
And even more, it’s about the leader who survives tsunamis and throws a lifeline to others being pulled under. It’s about being a good human, the one who seizes an opportunity to elevate and celebrate the people who come into their life. It’s about being a leader with the vision to see how team members can make an impact together that’s far beyond what they could do individually.
This is the heart of leadership, how real change, influence, and transformation come through building relationships and sharing the benefits. As a leader, you have the unique opportunity to touch lives in ways you never could before you were put in this position. You can be the leader who sets in motion the ripples that carry good things onward and outward.
Have you found yourself asking the same questions that I asked myself as I faced King Arthur and his knights my first day on the job? Why am here? How do I do this? Are you doing battle with your doubts and fears? As you work through your Why? and How? questions, use the acronym ripples as a guide for your path in leadership.
Remember. Remember who you are and where you came from. Remember your purpose, your dreams, your people. Remember all those who have helped you get where you are and all the ones you want to help as you live and breathe and walk through life.
Inspire. Consider the inspiring and motivational leaders you’ve known, seen, or heard about and pass along the good things you’ve gleaned from them and others. Inspire through empathy and example.
Provide. Provide good leadership, a flourishing work culture, top-tier training, and generous resources to your team.
Protect. Protect your people and your mission. Protect what’s precious in your life and theirs.
Love. Love your team, love what you do, and love the people you’re trying to reach.
Elevate. Elevate people. Lift them up and create a path for them to advance and succeed. Celebrate the uniqueness of each person on your team.
Share. Share all good things with others.
Remember, inspire, provide, protect, love, elevate, share. In this book, we’ll take a closer look at each of these leadership concepts. I hope they will help you catch the vision of empathy-driven leadership and give you the confidence that you are perfectly equipped for the job. Be a different kind of leader. Care and be authentic, sincere, and trustworthy. And when no one else is willing, step up and be bold.
Let’s explore how you can invest in the lives of others, build them up, and launch new leaders into a world that desperately needs their presence. And while doing so, you’ll set ripples in motion that will reach people and places beyond your wildest dreams.
*Excerpt from RIPPLES: be the leader who sets good things in motion, by Jayme Durant.
Featured image by Yoann Boyer on Unsplash
