Leadership Knows No Retirement

One person gets up in front of others and tells them what to do. Another shrugs their shoulders and lets someone else emerge to guide a group. Yet another individual describes the situation, asks for ideas and input, and then guides the folks in making a democratic decision. These are disparate examples of how leadership might manifest. A range of behaviors is possible.

I have studied leadership since I was a teenager. 4-H was an organization that taught young people how to be leaders and gave them practice through experiential leadership. I attended a 4-H Leadership Camp as a junior in high school and it changed my life in terms of recognizing my own potential for leadership.

As an introvert, I have not necessarily sought leadership. I like J.K. Rowling’s quote, “It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well.”

I have been in formal leadership positions over the years as president or member of a Board of Directors for many organizations ranging from being captain of my basketball team to Board member and president of national professional organizations. I have sought to model myself as a democratic leader who was willing to lead by inspiring followers who believed in the same principles as me. I have been described as a “quiet leader” on several occasions. I gladly accept that mantle.

I hope, as Dolly Parton suggested, “If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader.”

I thought that my formal leadership days were over. I am content in volunteering in positions where the opportunities are clear and relatively easy to perform. I like informal responsibility such leading my friends in a monthly full moon rising walk. I am happy to stay in the background.

Sometimes, however, new opportunities present themselves and others have confidence in my ability to lead. I am about to accept a new formal leadership opportunity. I know I can handle it although sometimes the “imposter syndrome” rears its ugly head. I look forward to the opportunity to shepherd a cause that is meaningful to me. Perhaps leadership never goes into retirement.