You cannot live in yesterday but take a moment just now and consider the very first leadership roles you filled. Did the class elect you president? Did the burger place make you an assistant manager, handing you a set of keys?
What kind of leader were you? Would the “you” of today follow the “you” in that situation? Is it any wonder you got anything done? Isn’t it amazing that they did not take you out back and teach you some things?
Technically, I started serving as “pastor” towards the conclusion of my first year in college. How thankful I am for that and the other churches who endured my early attempts at “leadership.” As you read this quote you will note the liberal uses of parenthesis. I offer them as a confession with head bowed. I was not much of a pastor. “Green” would hardly be a suitable definition for my leadership. If I were to go back to those days with the experience and knowledge earned in the years since, I doubtless would be a better leader.
I imagine you would have similar observations. Thankfully, leadership is not static. You have grown. You have developed. Your knowledge of how to relate to yourself and to others around you has changed. You are NOT the same. Thank goodness.
It is a good thing to occasionally pause and remember from where we have come. Think back to your first days as a leader. Remember some of your early struggles, even dare to admit those mistakes.
You have learned. Like metal shaped by an expert craftsman you have been beaten into the leader you are today. You have been shaped by people and circumstances. You have been molded sometimes by painful failure, at other times by exciting victory. You are still standing. Celebrate the journey. Look back for a moment and review.
What made you the leader you are today? You have been shaped along the way by several forces. Influences include:
- People
- Circumstances
- Challenges
- Home Life
- Failures
- Crises
- Personal Struggles
- An Unseen Sculptor
Acknowledge the things that most shaped you as a leader. Give thanks that you made it through the challenges. Perhaps even reach out to those who played a part in you becoming the leader you are today. You are not the same. For that all who follow you are thankful.
Engage Coaching and Consulting acknowledges that we are not the leaders we were in the past. We are committed to providing resources to shape you as a future leader.
