No More Following

Act 123:

“It’s never too late… To Take The Lead

You’ll know when the time is right. The moment will present itself. When you are the best equipped. The most experienced. Or the most capable. You owe it to yourself to grasp the chance. Trust your instincts. Show the way.” – Patrick Lindsay

Quote in book: “A leader is a man who can adapt principles to circumstances.” ~ General George S. Patton

If you are like me, you’re probably a little afraid of taking the lead at first. I’m always nervous trying to step up and be a leader especially in a new environment. However, once I’m comfortable and know the rest of the team and/or people involved… I have no problem leading.

I think some people are natural born leaders and some are natural born followers. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t learn to do other. The natural born leaders (like myself) have to learn how to follow, because there will come a day that that person will not be the leader of the group and if you don’t know how to follow, that creates problems. The natural born followers need to learn how to lead, because there may come a situation where they have to step up or are forced to. Knowing which you are naturally and how to do the other is very helpful.

So, how do you know when to take the reins? It’s really easy to know when to step up when it’s a new situation. Let’s take the show LOST… when you’re thrown into a situation like when your plane has crashed and someone needs to take charge to organize people. In this situation, it’s easy to know someone needs to take the lead. It’s harder to figure out when you have to take the lead, if you either haven’t been given the opportunity and/or someone else is already leading. You don’t want to step on anyone’s toes nor do you want to anger or rock the boat (or maybe you do… haha)

No matter what the situation, once you’ve taken the lead, the keys to being successful are staying calm, collected and focused at the task at hand. Be assertive. Be vocal… but don’t be dismissive or disrespectful. Most people will not follow someone they don’t respect. So, try to gain their respect and trust early on and most will stay loyal and trust you throughout the task until you’ve proven to break that trust and/or lose their respect.

So go out there… take the initiative. Take the lead where and when you can. Even if you are scared… most of the time we are ready, even if we think we aren’t. You can do it. Believe in yourself. Believe you can do it. I know you can. I will support you and follow, when you take the lead. =)

Mini Trivia

The minute I saw this Act… I started singing “Where You Lead”.

10 Points: Name the Artist who sings “Where You Lead”

10 Points: Name the TV show that had “Where You Lead” as it’s theme song.