“A leader without followers is just a man taking a walk.” – Bishop Ozro Thurston Jones Jr. (1923-2008)
Actions speak where words cannot travel. As a result, I seldom ask the question, “Where are the leaders?”
ASK BETTER QUESTIONS
Observing our elected United States Congress’s refusal to conduct official government business, I marvel. The pause is long enough for my tea to grow cold.
(Excuse me, good tea people, I must prepare a fresh cup. For the inquisitive, pictured is Tea Philosophy’s River Place Rose.)
Watching the steam gently rise from my glass cup, I ask myself these questions:
1. What motivates a person to follow another?
2. If someone chooses to follow, then where will they be led?
LIVE GREATER ANSWERS
Following someone else, whether into an underground subway tunnel or virtually via Twitter, requires confidence that the person is going somewhere we’d like to be. We cast our vote of confidence by our willingness to join fellow travelers seeking the same destination.
(This is an excellent opportunity to thank each and every faithful Straight From The Leaf reader. Welcome to all new followers!)
We travel together as long as we trust that we’ll arrive safely and on time. If an event damages that belief, then expect passengers to seek alternative travel routes. As in both travel and leadership, people have options.
TRAVELING UNDERGROUND
Unlike Harriet Ross Tubman, leaders today seem oblivious to how tangibly their decisions (or the lack thereof) affect people’s lives and livelihoods. Imagine if she decided not to endanger her life more than 19 trips to save others? Harriet Tubman never lost a passenger.
(By the way, there is no record that she ever inked a book deal; signed a recording contract; filmed any video; sold designer apparel; or, offered pre-paid debit cards in exchange for her humanitarian service.)
Let’s walk, whether alone or within a group, and leave a clearly marked trail for others to follow.
Speaking of leaves, let there be tea. Cups up, good tea people!
