Certainly, we live in times of constant and rapid change. Hence, it is easy to appreciate that many times they occur and there is no leader prepared to train others.
A simple and graphic metaphor would be to imagine, at this moment, a vehicle traveling on a highway at high speed, say about 120 km per hour. And when we realize it, it has no driver. We infer immediately that the vehicle will crash. The leader is definitely like a driver who drives and decides where to go.
Today, the leader must be prepared as new technologies demand greater speed of response. It is essential to understand that everything changes and is different every moment. As Heraclitus, the Greek philosopher, said, it is not possible to put your feet twice in the same stream.
For all this, we have believed that leaders are people endowed with superior talents and abilities. The call of a leader is not exclusive to those who possess charisma or the ability to speak in public. You, yourself, the one who listens to me. You have been called to lead because leadership is only what we call influence. And who has not influenced the life of someone else?
The most important thing to assume the role of leader is attitude. Well, until now we have thought that they are born with qualities; and they really get done. If we review the Bible, we will realize that God called to leadership men like Moses, Jeremiah, Jonah, Paul, who immediately reacted with a NO, considering that they were not leaders. They just accepted the challenge; they prepared themselves and developed skills to change their attitude and boost their potential. And why not give yourself the opportunity too?
Others have the attitude, but not the qualities. I remember reading that the philosopher Demosthenes was very ashamed to speak in public because of his weaknesses. He took very crude measures such as shaving part of his head, sitting for long hours in front of the sea to practice without stopping… imagine what annoying. Just for the purpose of overcoming your problems.
And really, he became the best speaker in the ancient world. And his story inspired me that the first time I spoke in public I fainted with fright when I saw 120 eyes fixed on me.
You are a unique piece in this gallery that is life. And surely you can think of an area where you excel: sports, technology, languages, cooking, design, reading, sewing, pastry, music, philosophy. Take a few minutes to reflect on it. You will surely find more than one area or topic; I ask you to choose one.
Again I insist, leadership is recognizing yourself as someone capable of influencing the lives of others. Enough of making excuses to avoid it. Take on the challenge and start recognizing yourself as a leader today. This decision will transform your life and that of those around you.
I suggest the following exercise to start working on that leader in you: 1. Identify a natural talent that distinguishes you. 2. Exercise it and develop it. 3. I encourage you to think about how you can use that talent to share it with others. 4. Evaluate when you share it, how you can influence others through that talent or gift. 5. Give yourself time to grow it like a plant. Water it and take care of it. And you will be reaping the leadership to which you have been called.
