Give Light

“Give light, and the darkness will disappear of itself.” - Desiderius Erasmus

You've been assigned to lead a group of people with a task to accomplish. It could be related to your work place, church or maybe a volunteer group of some sort. Those assigned either by choice or not are as varied in background as there are stars in the sky. With this wide ranging group of people, one important thing needs to get done. You're in charge and faced with the question of getting everyone working towards a common goal or task.

It may be that you are wondering how you ever got into this position. This could be your first real venture in leading people. Maybe you are asking yourself how you got into this predicament. But it is most likely that others recognized your qualities. Otherwise, you would not have been asked to lead.

Think about that for the moment.

Someone else saw potential and other qualities in me.

Enough so to put you in charge of completing the task.

Knowing others see it in you, take that and believe in yourself. Do not be afraid to fail because we all fail from time to time. It is in attempting to move that we are able to cause change in our lives and in other lives. When others affirm their belief in you, belief in yourself becomes easier. This in turn creates confidence. Confidence that equips you for the challenge ahead.

How do we turn this into completing the task?

The same way you gained confidence, by entrusting those you have been assigned to lead. You state what the end goal must be and allow all to be heard. When people know that their ideas are going to be taken seriously, that their insights matter, they will become more comfortable and confident.

In turn, your group of people become better equipped to deliver their best. Being stressed and uncomfortable results in detrement to not only the task, but also to the personal lives of those around you. As a leader, you have to inspire and provide an atmosphere in which others can perform at their best.

There will be those that complain and in their actions attempt to drag the group down. That type of behavior creates adversity not only for the task at hand, but also in the lives of those surrounding it. If you focus on the adversity, that is where you will surely stay.

Focus on the good and that is where you will travel to.

Now that you have taken this first step in completing the task, know that the task I speak of is life itself. Each of you have the ability to be great and with it the ability to inspire others to greatness. Believe in yourself and live life inspiring others to believe as well.

Stay inspired my friends.