Leadership Lessons Learned

The right shoes can provide comfort, performance, traction, style, or even safety as evidenced by Sheri wearing hiking boots while traversing a “Tigger bridge” (bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun).

Shoes came to mind recently despite acute acknowledgement I am the least fashionable and least fashion aware individual in the world.  They came to mind while on a long trek with plenty of silent time to fixate and figure out how to change the world in ways I think we could, should, and/or must.  When deep into this to ensure I respect that my thoughts are only an N of 1 and that others might know better or have more need for changes to help them, I usually silently crank in my head “Wouldn’t It Be Good” by Nik Kershaw that perhaps is most recognized for Danny Hutton Hitters covering on the Pretty in Pink soundtrack.  The battle of envy between multiple perspectives of the two-sided dialogue in the song is quite remarkable given the longing and conversely erroneous “to be in your shoes” happens despite the lyrics never changing.  So perhaps we could learn or wear a thing (or appropriately two) from shoes while walking our own personal development pathways:

Do Shoe (Shoed):

*If the shoe fits.  Own who you are and what you’ve done.  Problems occur if you incorrectly size expectations or exclamations.

*Put yourself in others shoes.  Empathize and seek to understand their Why.  Meet them where they are.

*Fill someone’s shoes.  Study great attributes or traits of others and model the good.

*Shoestring budget.  Take pride in scrapping to scrape by.  Just never use it to excuse shortchanging others.

Don’t Shoe (Shoeldn’t):

*Goody two shoes.  Do what is right because it is right, not in the negative adaptation of this which is for appearances.

*Other shoe to drop.  Break this vicious cycle and stop waiting for it and instead proactively protect against it or avoid situations where you create the possibility of it.

*Dead men’s shoes.  Waiting for someone to not be there anymore before proceeding on your plan or your trajectory is wasteful.  Envy exacerbates this.  Be you.

*Shake in one’s shoes.  Fear is the enemy of forward.  Assess danger, then figure out how to avoid, maneuver, or drive through it.

May you tread safely always and never on others.

#leadership #itmatters #personaldevelopment #kindness #journey