You’re waiting. You just wish it was different. You wish your teammate helped out more. You wish the meetings accomplished more and were more fun. You wish you’d get a raise. You wish your office manager would let go of the one mistake that you made months ago. You wish your spouse was more romantic and spontaneous. You wish your team was more committed to the vision. You’re waiting.
And while you’re waiting, leaders are charging ahead, doing it anyway. Leaders don’t wait. Leaders go first, carving the way and showing it to others. They are what we call the “tip of the spear,”always doing the hard work of breaking the barriers and demonstrating what courage and leadership really looks like with their words and actions.
You wish it was different but leaders make it different. You wish your teammate helped out more, but leaders have already started helping that person out more as an example of what good teamwork looks like. You wish meetings accomplished more and were more fun, but leaders are making suggestions and raising their hands to volunteer, and they are the ones who surprise others occasionally by showing up with fresh juice and bagels. You wish you’d get a raise, but leaders have already facilitated the meeting and are bringing evidence of their contribution in addition to enthusiastic ideas about how they can help the business continue to thrive. You wish your office manager would let go of a mistake, but leaders have already forgiven themselves as well as their manager for holding the grudge. You wish your spouse was more romantic, but leaders have already lit the candles, written the love notes, planned the surprises, and bought the nighty. You wish your team was more committed to the vision, but leaders are showing up so on fire and amped up every morning, ready to fulfill on their vision that no one can miss or mistake what the vision is about.
You’re waiting, and leaders go first. You’re the tail feathers on the arrow, and leaders are the tip of the spear. The tip of a spear opens the space for the rest, breaks through the barrier, and is never, ever a victim.
This week, go first. Be the tip of the spear that slices through the mediocrity, gossip, blaming and complaining of most people and charges forward, showing the way by your very own example.
“You have to be brave with your life so that others can be brave with theirs.”
~ Katherine Center
