Leading Others

Leadership is best exemplified when we make others around us better. It’s easy to tell others what to do if you are a leader. It’s easy to make decisions for others and delegate things. It’s also easy to set an example of how to do something and expect others to learn and follow. But what’s truly a gift, is when you maximize what others can be.

In sports, this is a teammate or coach that sees who you can be as an athlete, and speaks that belief into existence. That leader believes in you with their whole heart and with their encouragement and actions, and it convinces you that you are something greater than you once thought.

In friendship, this is the person who demands more of you than you do for yourself and helps you see what you are truly capable of. The friend who always pushes you and holds you accountable to find more within in terms of your goals, your relationships, and your habits.

In families, this should be parents guiding their children through mistakes, hardships, and lessons, with a focus on the bigger picture of who they are becoming. See the best in them, but also show them how to grow into something better.

Kobe Bryant learned to lead like this in the NBA (after the first few years) when he realized he was not going to win championships and not have the lasting impact on others if he didn’t bring others along with him. He said, “You could say I dared people to be their best selves.” He led them to want more out of themselves, therefore making more of everything around them. He led himself well at the age of 17, but as he matured as a person and leader, he figured out how to give to those around him in a more powerful way.

It is said that no human ever really reaches their full potential, completely maxing out what they are given in life. But, with more enhancing leaders who dare others, we can close the gap.

How will you practice this leadership? Who will you believe in today?

#getbetter