I’ve recently had an interesting conversation with a dad from our school community. He shared a personal story, a lesson he learned from his 6 year-old, which may be a great lesson for us all, for life.
One day his daughter asked him if he was a boss, or a leader. After considering the question for a moment, he responded that he was both a boss, and a leader. Hearing that, his daughter asked him: ‘Do you know that, as a leader, you must have people following you? Who is following you, daddy?’
Not knowing how to respond, he decided to find the answers the next day, at his company. He stepped into the office and tried to see who were the people following him, and who were those who just listened and obeyed. What a wake-up call, delivered by a 6 year-old! From that day on, the father understood his purpose in running the company and started to think about what he could change in order to become more of a leader, and less of a boss.
We’ve all heard, seen pictures and read articles about the differences between a leader or a boss. I personally used to think that I knew everything on the topic.
However, this story has opened my eyes and has showed me how a child could intuitively understand such an abstract and profound topic. Children have the ability to easily accept and apply life principles that we have difficulty accepting, because our thinking is owerpowered by outdated paradigms. Most importantly, children have an innocent drive to share their knowledge with others and they understand the true value of sharing.
That is why children such as the little girl in the story are the true leaders of tomorrow. They have the courage, the skills and the knowledge to change our world for the better!
