Can You Hear Me Now?

I’d like to think that I grew up like all other kids, typical childhood, watching TV and playing outside. I think the same cartoons and TV shows that impacted me, impacted everyone else. But a strange thing happened the older I got. I barely remember ever watching Robin Hood, but I loved the idea of what he stood for. He went out and had adventures every single day, but the ultimate goal was to steal from the rich and give to the poor. I don’t want to lose anyone and think that this is a political conversation. I didn’t ever really think about it from a money standpoint. I always looked at it from the perspective of there are people out in the world who need something, but they do not have the resources on their own to get it. Those were the people that I was drawn to, how can I help them? The older I got the more I realized that you couldn’t go around proclaiming you want to be like Robin Hood. I’m not sure when I heard it the first time or who even said it, but the older I got, I loved it when people said that they were the voice for the voiceless. For me, it created the same image in my head as Robin Hood did, people need something and for some reason they can’t provide it for themselves. If someone were to ask me about my leadership style, I would love to be able to say that I wanted to be the type of leader who could see people that others didn’t notice. It’s easy to be awesome when you are handed the best of the best. I want to be awesome with the people that no one noticed. I want to be the outlaw who doesn’t fit in with the “In Crowd”, and those people that the popular kids refused to look at, they will be my band of “Merry Men”, and together we will all come together and win. But hopefully, with age comes wisdom. The older I get; I now realize that the mission has once again changed. I can’t run through the Sherwood Forest all day anymore, and with a family, it’s not always easy to be available to speak up for everyone. When we were younger, our world was the size of the imaginary place they called Nottingham. Now our world is unlimited and everywhere you look someone needs something. Now the mission has changed from trying to be the voice for the voiceless to teaching people how to use their voice. Some people will still need help, but for some they have the ability, they just haven’t been taught how to use it. If you keep speaking for people who have the ability, I think you actually silence them even more. I want to get better at listening instead of always talking. When you listen you hear more about what people need. It’s easy to think this post is about giving money to the poor or speaking up when you feel like no one is listening. But I want it to be so much more. I want this to be about taking action. We have people around us who want to be great, but they have no clue how to do it. They need someone who can slow down, stop talking to everyone else and take time to work with them. We have people in our lives that we say that we care about, but they are struggling, and they need someone to listen to them. We have people in our lives who are halfway through a journey but now they are stuck. They need someone to show them the next step. If you want to be a great leader, you must be able to give people courage, confidence and opportunity. These days it’s popular to hoard information, if you keep it to yourself, you are automatically important. If you share it, everyone gets stronger. Every person you lead has something to share, an idea or a perspective on something. Let them share it, listen to them, Be the leader who gives a voice to others.

Focus for the Week

Go out and find that diamond in the rough. Go find that person on your team who you don’t know very well. Ask them about what they like, ask them if they are struggling with anything and need help. Go out and find that person who is feeling uncomfortable and make them comfortable.