Ripples of Leadership: who are you encouraging to grow past you?

When you dip your toe in the lake….say while you’re sitting on a boat…but it’s too cold to get ALL the way in, even in Texas in October…you can see the lil’ripples you make on the surface.

Depending on the size of the body of the water you’re in, you can watch the ripples until they fade away, or as they bounce off the tube and come back to you.

Leadership reminds me daily that there are people watching me, that I want to encourage. That I want to grow. That I want to be whatever it is they want to be when they want to be it. Sometimes it’s an administrative position, sometimes it’s in curriculum. Sometimes its just being stronger at _______ or moving to _________ position. Sometimes they need to hear, “Hey, you’d be FANTASTIC at ________.” Or maybe “I have a skill set in _______,  and can help you.” Maybe it’s “My friend Angela is incredible at ______, let me connect you to her.”

I think it’s my responsibility to not just stick my toe in the leadership waters, but to cannonball in and help my people where I can.

I want big ripples.  I want ripples that last long after I’ve gone. When you treat every interaction and conversation as one that could have a ripple effect, you start to be more conscious of your word choice.

And that’s a good thing.

I hope you’re cannonball’ing in this week.