The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines leaderboard as “a large board for displaying the ranking of the leaders in a competitive event.”1 This particular leaderboard has absolutely nothing to do with that. Instead, its purpose is to display and discuss various leadership principles, quotes, statistics and ramblings.
In high school I certainly wasn’t prom queen, but I wasn’t necessarily a social pariah either. I found my comfort zone off to the side, out of sight and out of mind. I existed and that was enough. Definitely not what any sane person would consider a leader. The truth is, I allowed a mostly terrible childhood to steal away my opportunity to live a fulfilled life. As I got older I realized that life could be so much better than merely surviving, only existing. I decided to take everything I had learned through past experiences and somehow inspire others to dare to live the life they always wanted but never thought they could.
The first step in the process was to find worth within myself, to step beyond my comfort zone and go for broke. I started by joining the leadership team of the church youth group I had been attending for years. It wasn't until my sophomore year in college that I went all in. I began pledging a professional co-ed business fraternity, ran for the pledge class presidency…and won. It was quite possibly one of the most monumental moments of my young life. As the tallies were drawn on the board one by one, I became more and more confident in two things: my peers saw me as a leader and I wanted to lead. My presidency was cut short when I decided to leave school to pursue a nine-month ministry leadership and discipleship experience called Master’s Commission. It was during this time that I learned what it meant to be a leader. With a current total of nearly six years of leadership experience under my belt I can honestly and humbly admit that I still don’t know even close to everything, but every day I do my best to be better than the day before.
The leaderboard is simply a collection of those things that I have learned and continue learning, a reference for some and a reminder for me. It is my highest hope that the contents of this leaderboard will inform and inspire leaders of all ages, ranks and professions to continuously strive to be better than the day before. Making this simple daily commitment has made every difference in the way I am able to communicate with and relate to those who are willing to follow.
I would like to leave you with this final thought to be discussed in my next blog: John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, once said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”2
2http://govleaders.org/quotes6.htm (seventh quote on the page)
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