What makes a leader?
Dave Sneddon
Transforming Life for Vulnerable Populations | COO | CEO | Building Financially Sustainable Cultures | Developing People from CNA to C-suite
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Leadership doesn’t come with a title. Leadership is overcoming your own challenges to help others.
Early 2022, I was on stage as CEO announcing the new name and rebranding for AbleLight. I saw one of the best example of natural leadership and it was not even from an employee let alone someone with a “leader” title.
As we went through the dry run before the broadcast we were moving from the front stage to a stage at the back to announce different segments. I was with Nascar star and broadcaster David Ragan and his brother Adam. Adam is a race car driver as well and he is a huge fan of the University of Georgia football team who had just won the national title the night before (first of 2 in a row now – hopefully many more, go Dawgs!) and my wife and I both attended UGA for graduate school, so we had bonded over that. Adam also has Down Syndrome
As we went to rehearsal on the back stage the steps were quite steep for a small high stage. Adam is a shorter guy and had some difficulty getting up the steps. He was feeling overwhelmed so he went to sit on his own to mentally prepare to go up the steps. He and I talked for a little while and I mentioned that I had a big fear of heights too but I knew he could do it.
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Later we were about to go live and I looked a wee bit nervous. As I came to the steep steps on the small stage, Adam saw me from the stage. He took a deep breath, stepped to the edge that had scared him so much and held out his hand to me and said “I got you buddy”
To watch Adam put aside his own fear to help and reassure me was to see true leadership. We had a job to do and Adam was nervous, but he knew that he had the ability to help someone else and so that was exactly what he did.
Anyone can lead – see what needs to be done, see what is holding others back, put aside your own insecurities to help others, let others know you are right there with them doing the same thing and that they can do it.
Thank you Adam for showing me compassion and leadership.?