Anna Speer, COO of AACo, took to social media last week to share her ideas for People things. She said: ‘My devil is the water bomber! Zoë was a key part of my journey in 2010 with the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation and she always manages to remind me why it is important to serve and have a clear purpose, as well as to be courageous. people xx 🠙 “.
I love your comment, “be brave for people”.
It reminds me of when I was a freshman summer camp counselor at the ripe age of 17. It was the first day and I had Senior Girls (13-15 years old). These creatures are well known for their cynicism and reluctance to look uncool.
He knew he had to convince these girls and set the tone for the two-week camp otherwise they would walk away from it all for fear of not looking “cool.”
Immediately after lunch the first day, it was raining heavily. The perfect time for “Body Beautiful”. This is an exercise in which participants put on bathing suits, roll in mud, and generally get dirty. The objective? Breaking the ice, taking risks, and fostering a positive body image. A clear winner for 15 year old girls! I could already see the long faces and the folded arms.
This was. I had to bring my A game if this was going to work. He had to appear fearless, bold, and completely committed. Let me assure you, I was wondering if I could get past my own inner scruples for looking silly and at the same time worrying about my shaky parts getting exposed in a bathing suit.
So I summoned my inner hard core rock star and leaned in, “Fuck it, let’s do it!”
I recovered, I was excited, I strutted. In ten minutes I had those girls in bathing suits, covered in mud and howling like demons running across campus! I will never forget the faces of the astonished onlookers! That group went on to try anything during those two weeks and had an absolute buck. It is one of my favorite memories.
Not all leadership challenges have a fun payoff. “Be brave for the people”, even though it sticks through thick and thin. Sometimes we need to do things we don’t want to do, with conviction and fierce determinism, fully committed.
Where can you lean, remove the facades and roar?
#leadership #peoplethings #courage #warrior #warrior #leader
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