What do you see when you hear the word Leader?

While we may picture different things, many of us grew up with one common response to the word Leader: “That’s not me, that’s someone else.”

The model of only one type of leader, someone leading from the front who “has all the answers” is a fantasy – and it’s an outdated one.

What if everyone is a Leader?

  “You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour, now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour. It is time to speak your Truth. And do not look outside yourself for the leader. […]
Gather yourselves! We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”
 – Attributed to an unnamed Hopi elder, Hopi Nation/Oraibi, Arizona, 2000

During the Civil Rights movement Martin Luther King Jr. was the type of Leader we often envision. He was out in front, speaking and leading as the face of the movement. During that same movement, there was another courageous and vital Leader – Rosa Parks. While not the face of the movement, she absolutely showed up as a Leader. She spoke soulfully when it mattered most. By uttering one word, “No”, on a bus, she helped change the course of history.

Everyone is a Leader. Everyone has a voice. Every voice makes up a part of the collective voice. Now, like no other time in history, we need to hear from everyone.  Every. Voice. Matters.  And we need everyone to lead.  

So what does this mean?  We will not all be leading from the front as the face of major movements. However, on a day-to-day basis, we each have the opportunity to Lead – some from the front, some from within, some from behind. From the podium to the PTA, from our families to our offices,  from volunteers to CEOs, all of us can show up taking responsibility for and consciously creating our impact in the world.

We are the ones we have been waiting for….

With passion & love,
Lauri