An open letter to the younger me…a leader’s note to self
Dr. Tony Bridwell
Chief Talent Officer, The Encompass Group | Organizational Behavioralist | International Speaker | C-Suite Advisor and Coach | Best Selling Author | Board Member | Adjunct Professor
Dear younger me,
In my last letter to the younger me, I reminded myself of the importance of leading with love. Life as a father is more enjoyable when you keep in mind the simple insights I left in my last note: Give the benefit of the doubt, balance your counsel, and vulnerability builds character.
Take these lessons to heart as you grow. In this letter, I wanted to share a single insight. As I approach yet another birthday, I couldn’t help but contemplate the blessings I’ve experienced along the way. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of skinned-knee moments in the journey. Many of those moments help shape who we become as we grow in our wisdom. But there is one simple principle that I almost missed.
Note to self, don’t miss this important principle: You only lead as well as you follow.
We didn’t appreciate the impact of this principle until later in life. Honestly, should the younger me get hold of this letter in high school, take a deep breath, sit down, put aside the noise of my peers, and pay close attention to this one simple message…learn to follow.
- Who you follow matters.
We become a reflection of people who surround us. More importantly, we take on the traits, both good and bad, of those we choose to follow. Who we follow impacts how we think, feel, and act. Side note: Fortunately, we chose to follow Jesus; but honestly, we didn’t understand how to follow until later in life.
2. How you follow matters.
It should come as no shock that we are a tad bit stubborn. In looking back, we spent much of our time going through the motions of following mostly out of fear. True following involves humbly submitting not out of fear but out of love. Basically, what we learned is following well requires serving others with integrity. Side note: It took us much too long to learn this. The key to how--love others as you want to be loved.
3. Why you follow matters.
Why learning to follow matters is because…well, you matter. You have great worth and are loved dearly by many but mostly by the One who created you. Never forget this, you are deeply loved. Side note: Over the years, there were times when our self-worth faded. What we have learned was this, when we focused on following or, better put, serving others with honor and integrity, our self-worth increased in a healthy way.
Final note: Effective leadership is built upon the foundation of true followership. When you spend time learning to follow, you are essentially learning to be a true leader.
Happy Birthday,
The Future Me
Enterprise Account Manager at Docebo
6 年It's funny because as someone that is young in my career, I think a lot about what it means to become of a leader. Reading this post brought back into my heart the distinction between wanting to lead and being a leader. The distinction being that being a leader means putting aside that the ego or need to help others achieve what they might not have. Your article brought back to my attention the need to follow others that can help you learn how to give back to others through following their steps. Thank you so much for taking the time to share this reflection.
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6 年Awesome !!!
Head of Global Customer Success at Get Bridge
6 年You are the BEST!
Licensed REALTOR? . Consultant. Confidant. Helping dreams come true through home ownership!
6 年Thanks Tony. You continue to teach me... how to follow, how to lead, and who I'm meant to be.
On-Demand CFO & Cash Flow Architect | Guiding Small Businesses to Financial Clarity | Specializing in HVAC Financial Management
6 年What encourage you to write open letter to yourself?