A Ringleader, Apparently

I worked in an office almost a decade age and I can still hear my coworker call me a "ringleader."

He definitely didn't mean it this way, but I took it as a compliment. He was right. I was a leader. I am a leader. I am naturally someone who tests the status quo. I like to shake things up and tweak them with strategy.

I walk into a room, I take mental notes, I read visual cues, and I decide when and how I'll apply pressure. That isn't a recommendation as much as it's just the truth. Sometimes the pressure is intentional. Sometimes it's a response to whatever is going on around me. And oftentimes, it comes after I've had time to reflect and absorb the information I've gathered.

Back then, admittedly, I was much more like a heifer in a china shop. I'd come in with good intentions, but I just didn't have the skill to move in a way that I look back on and think, "Man, that was a really smooth way to promote change."

I was a different kind of leader back then. Much more focused on leading the group to water and much less concerned about the impact we made by being loud at the trough.

My intention was to do my small part as an analyst on a corporate project management team well. And I did. And I encouraged other people to do it well.

But I did it quickly, strongly, and without connection as the priority. I did it without the integrity of the relationship with affected audience in mind.

My audience then wasn't ready change.

Most people aren't.

But like Seth Godin says, "Most people aren't leaders."

Comment and rate this blog. Tell me what you thought of Day TWO of THIRTY days of writing something every day.