“First rule of leadership: everything is your fault.” – A Bug’s Life

While that sounds funny, it is true.  When you are the leader, everything can and will come back to you – good or bad.  It’s important to remember that.  When things are going well, you are riding high; but when things take a turn for the worse, where do you find yourself?  This is the place where the foundations of character, vulnerability, and humility come in.  Who are you, really?  What do you stand for?  What do you believe in?  What are you afraid of?  What are your “non-negotiables”?  What are your strengths?  What are your weaknesses?  What is your vision?  What is your purpose?  These are hard questions to answer, but the answers lay the foundation for who you are to be as a leader, and as a person.

The thing to remember is that everyone can be a leader.  Children can be leaders, adults can be leaders, and even animals can be leaders.  Leadership is one of those ambiguous words that mean different things to different people.  The important thing to remember is that we can all lead – and we can lead in good ways or bad ways.  We all have the ability to choose the type of leader we want to be, and to work hard at making it true.

Brene Brown states that you should, “let go of who you think you’re supposed to be; embrace who you are.”  Start learning who you are.  Take the time to think about how you lead.  How can you lay a solid foundation to reach your highest achievement?  Think hard about it, and work hard at answering it…especially if it’s going to be all your fault.