Heroic Moment: Leadership "in Sight"

I haven't had very much, if any, original content for you in some time. Over the last few weeks, I've been busy at work, my spouse began a new job, my boys headed off to a new daycare, and my oldest son had his fifth birthday and first day of kindergarten. But, most of all, I've spent a lot of time playing Super Mario Bros. Wii. Seriously.

The experience, however, has provided a valuable leadership lesson that I would like to share with you.

Leadership "in sight"

As somebody who first played Super Mario on the original Nintendo console, it is easy to fall into old patterns of racing through each level, even in the relatively unfamiliar world of Super Mario Bros. Wii, which my oldest son received for his birthday last month. However, when playing with multiple players, it is important to remain "in frame," or else the lagging partners are terminated. Of course, to remain in sight requires heroes to expose themselves to fire chomps, goombas, koopa troopa, and other threats.

The lesson here is that, as heroes, we must remain "in sight" for our partners and communities. If not, it's probable that our partners will fall, and that our efforts to lead others to the next level will fail. That is, it is important to lead our groups, our organizations, and our communities from within their frames, meeting them at their point of view, in order to lead them through the challenge.

We may have the knowledge and power to win on our own, but we must guide them through each step of the journey in order to achieve our shared goals and to become our best together.