I accepted my first full time professional job over twenty years ago.  I was grateful that I secured a job and I was excited about the opportunity to do what I spent years preparing to do.  About a year later, it became clear that I could execute the assigned tasks, but I could not envision myself in such a monotonous career path for the rest of my life.  Additionally, the work environment literally made me sick.  Having been raised by educators who remained in the same jobs for decades, disappointment and judgment ruled every internal consideration I had about resigning from my “good” government job.  Then, I engaged in the practice of second guessing.  I asked questions like “Why didn’t I pursue the other job options?” I made statements like “Maybe if I give this more time it will get better.”  Next, I sought advice and met with some “advisors” who gave me more reasons to second guess myself by emphasizing to me that I had a “good” job because it was “stable” and provided a benefits package.  I attributed my mental warfare to my youth, continued in my role, and reminded myself often of all of the reasons that my job was “good.”  I did that until I just couldn’t any longer.

I was not in a position of leadership at that time, but I evaluated the leadership.  I made some promises to myself about things I would not do as a leader.  I also decided that if I ever became the leader of anything, I would do the following:

1. Encourage my team members to dream beyond the space or project. Dreamers bring with them positive, creative energy.  The collective dream vibe creates a spirit of hope.  I can say that my job is easier and more palatable when the people around me are positive and hopeful.
2. Support the fruits of dreaming. When the dream door opens and remains open, there is potential for really cool, innovative ideas with a wide spectrum of possibilities.  The ideas might revolutionize the way you conduct business or make the voice of the group more relevant.  The ideas could reveal a way to be a better steward over the resources entrusted to the team or add needed capital, human or otherwise, to the team.
3. Figure out who loves their work and who might be allergic to work. Those who love their work are self-motivated to remain engaged in the goals and objectives of the team or organization.  Those who love their work dream about ways to enhance the team or organization AND invest themselves in strategic planning and solution driven action plans to reach the desired outcomes.  Folks who love their work don’t see obstacles like space, money, size of the team, or deadlines as road blocks, but confront challenges with the mindset that reaching the desired outcome is more important than quitting.  If you lead people who fit the description of someone who loves their work, refer to #1 and #2.  If you work with someone who you wouldn’t describe in that way, they may not love their work or they could just be allergic to work.  In either case, encourage them to figure out what they love and support them in the transition to that thing.  I didn’t love the work I was doing at my first job and it benefited me to transition to something that I loved.
4. “Consider the source” is what my daddy used to tell me. In leadership, you hear many voices and opinions about your decisions and your leadership style.  It is important to have a handful of good advisors.  Good advisors are like good friends – we don’t really have a lot of them and they are excited to hear from you no matter how long it’s been since you last spoke to them.  Like good friends, good advisors are knowledgeable about the subject matter, yet not perceived as a “know-it-all.”  These folks teach you how to shape your story so that you can realize goals and overcome challenges.  At each phase of my life, I have added an advisor to my personal village.  I love them because they don’t always agree with me, yet they offer constructive, developmental advice.  They speak with candor and concern about things and situations that challenge me.  Their conversations meet negativity with an action plan strategically designed with my strengths and goals in mind.  If your advisor leaves your space and you with more negativity, fear, or confusion, you might seek out a new advisor.
5. “Leave it better than you found it” was always my mother’s advice. This directive worked when we visited someone else’s house and it works in any leadership role.  My first job left me worse off than when I started there and I blamed the leadership for most of the time I  worked there.  After a phone conversation with a law school classmate about “quality of life,” there was awareness that I had a decision to make about how I choose to spend my time and where I choose to spend it.  I am responsible for making myself and the place where I spend my time better.  My mother’s mantra should resonate with anyone who leads at any level.  “Leav[ing] it better than you found it” mandates intentional decisions, a purposeful use of resources, and a sacrifice of self and pride for the good of the team you lead.

I challenge readers to reflect on leaders in their past and present.  Examine the strengths and challenges of the leaders.  Analyze how their leadership styles enhanced you personally and/or professionally.  Think about how you could have made changes in your work ethic or level of contribution (based on your areas of giftedness) that might have made things better.  Ask yourself why you didn’t do those things.  You might get back to the motivations that lead you there or you might figure out that you didn’t really love the thing you were doing there and therefore gave less than you were capable of contributing.  At any rate, you should experience a change in perspective about the leadership and about yourself.  Your revelation ought to motivate you to be passionate about something, own the passion, and be excited about taking some type of leadership role in getting that something done.