Leaders Show Up, Even When No One is Watching
Talent and the admiration for performance may show up when you need it, or when you least expect it. Performance, conduct, and ethics always matter. True leaders show up every time.
When there is a graduation ceremony, someone will likely show up to talk about leadership. We’ve witnessed leadership in the Die-Hard movies, The Hunt for Red October, and A Few Good Men.
Leadership can be scripted in the board meeting, at the awards banquet, and for the corporate retreat. Yet, those aren’t the only places it is visible.
When the organization needs innovation, it should be present. During a massive disruption, it should be there. During an unexpected emergency, a pop-up meeting, or when someone least expects it, it should be there.
Yes, it should come when no one is watching.
Leaders Show Up
The kid who watches the fireman, the farmer, or the Navy SEAL, may experience something unexpected. It’s also true for those watching the backhoe operator, the auto mechanic, or the carpenter. And, someone quietly admiring a teacher, a doctor, or an astronaut. In all of these cases, leadership is happening, or it’s not.
Everyone working, every day, making an impact or a difference may not always realize who is watching. They may just be doing what they feel is their every day job.
Their defining moments are happening and are being experienced by someone else.
Perhaps unknowingly the work that you’ll do today will matter a whole lot more than just achieving results for your business or organization.
Leadership happens during all moments, not just the moments that it is scripted for.
We can skip the graduation ceremony, ignore signs of leadership in the movies, or resist the change happening right before our eyes.
Yet, leadership is still happening. It’s happening in the moment. It’s changing lives, and we don’t even know it.
Today you’ll deliver on some moments.
What will they look like?
-DEG
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
