February 2008

Leadership Lessons from Trees | If You Thought You Could Make a Difference (conclusion) | Attend a NALS Conference for Free!

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If You Thought You Could Make a Difference (conclusion)

If you thought you could make a difference, would you be willing to try?  If you discovered you possessed leadership qualities and skill, would you use them?  If you knew that you could motivate others to make a difference, would you be inspired to do so?  Together we have taken a look at several of the twelve qualities that leaders possess.  Finally, a leader is courageous and committed.

Building courage is important to a leader.  It is the courage to make the decision that could make a difference.  Courage can be defined as many things.  It is the ability to face danger, the ability to keep going when you feel that you cannot, and the ability to persevere.  Eleanor Roosevelt said, “You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage, with the best that you have to give.”  What are the qualities that make a leader courageous?  Leaders face danger everyday.  It may not be the danger that you think of.  It is the ability to admit with you have made a mistake, the ability to look a the entire picture and then make a decision, the ability to stand behind a decision that is made, and the ability to perform your duties and responsibilities when you have your “plate full” and continue what you started.  Do you remember the story of the starfish? 

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a figure in the distance.  As he got closer, he realized the figure was that of a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.  Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?”

The youth replied, “Throwing a starfish into the ocean.  The sun is up and the tide is going out.  If I don’t throw them back they’ll die.”

“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish.  You can’t possibly make a difference.”

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said, “I just made a difference for that one.”

The man was courageous, became involved and believed that one person can make a difference.  Believing is an important part of courage, as well as the ability to serve others.  Are you the type of leader who has courage?  Have the courage to invest in yourself and become a leader who makes a difference.

A leader is committed.  Sheila Murray Bethel said, “Commitment is the glue to your success as a leader.”  I often remember the energizer bunny that keeps going and going.  What makes the bunny going and going?  It is commitment.  My daughter often thinks her mother is the energizer bunny and she often asks how do you keep going.  It is commitment to the job, to finish what you start, it is the inner strength, the ability to dig deep and get the job done.  It takes courage to be committed.

Are you making a difference?  Do you possess some of the leadership qualities and have you used them?  If you knew that you could motivate others to make a difference, would you be inspired to do so?  Each and every one of you has inspired me in one way or another.  All it takes it one.  You all have the power to make a difference.  You will never know the lives you will touch!