Becoming A Leader

I wasn't prepared to be a parent.

I thought I was.

I had read the books.

I went to antenatal classes.

The nursery was ready, complete with white wooden cot and Pooh Bear blankets.

But the first night I held my daughter in my arms I sang her a lullaby I made up at the time, and I cried.

Not because I was sad.

Not because I didn't want this beautiful tiny little baby.

But because I was so overwhelmed with the enormity of it all.

Overwhelmed at having this life literally, at that moment, in my hands.

Parenting is such a big responsibility and yet there's nothing that can truly prepare us for it except for the becoming of it.

One minute you're not one, and then just like that, you are.

Becoming a leader is different, yet in some ways, the same.

• Unlike parenting, you can be a leader in certain contexts and not in others.
• You can't be a leader if no-one’s following you (this is true whether you are a manager or not).
• Like parenting, you can learn leadership skills in advance AND
• You can't truly know how they will work for you, until you become one.
• And while you may not literally have someone's life in your hands, you can genuinely affect your team's quality of life.

At the end of the day, no matter how much I thought I was ready to be a parent, in reality I knew next to nothing, and instead I picked things up along the way.

That way was massively messy, and imperfect, and full of all the emotions under the sun

And I wouldn't change it for anything.

Being a leader is also messy, and imperfect and full of many emotions, albeit not at the same level (thank goodness)!

So in this long winding way, what I'm saying is you might feel ready to be a leader, you might not, but you don't need to wait until things are perfect, until you are perfect, to step into a leadership role.

The world is crying out for leaders like you who care, so ready or not, take the step... the rest of it will come

Can you believe this photo is 20 years old?