if I was a leader

I had my epiphany when I was five years old.  I was attending a church Christmas concert when suddenly I began poking my Mother.

“Mummy, Mummy,” I whispered.
“What?” replied my Mother.
“I know what I want to be when I grow up!”  I expect my Mother was anticipating a request for the bathroom or a candy not a career pronouncement.  However, Mother played along.
“What is that?”
“I want to be up there”, and I waved my hand at the stage.

“Oh you want to be preforming, in a play like your Father”.   My Dad was an amateur thespian and has just given a rousing performance in a play that revolved around him miscounting eggs and oranges.  It was 1955, this was heady stuff.

“No!” I replied.
“Singing in the choir, or a solo? Saying a recitation?”
I was frantically shaking my head in the negative.  Even then it took me a bit to coral my ideas into words.
“Then what do you want to do?” asked my exasperated Mother.
“I want; I want to be that lady up there telling everyone what to do!” 
 

Myself at five

At five I had identified my role in life.  Some people are followers, some are leaders.  Some are sheep, others are shepherds. A few charge ahead, the rest stay back or tentatively go along.  As the oldest child I was in perfect position for leadership.  With parents who were often over whelmed with life, my skills were needed on the home base.

Although I had resolved to be a leader every scene did not play out in that way.  With my four younger brothers there was no contest; what I said, they did.  With childhood friends I was smart enough to rule by consensus and not be pegged the bossy one.

In school the teachers reigned supreme and somehow that suited my sensibilities.  The ineffectual teachers I learned to work around. In homage to my first real authority figures I planned a career in Education.  That was not to be. However I spent twenty three years as Manager of several public libraries where I truly ran my own ship.  This has been augmented with seven years as a Housing Officer and many, many years as President on various boards and commissions. Leadership roles also abounded in the Guiding organization, political parties and within the United Church of Canada. Every opportunity added to my skill set and self-confidence.

I do not always play the lead role as there are others who need an opportunity to learn and grow.  Forty five years ago I left my family home and bossing my brother’s ceased.  Yet they still call me for advice and emotional support.

Early on I learned that the best manager/leader takes all his players into consideration. Perhaps the instance in which I most stretched happened in Florenceville. The mill in Stickney had closed without warning and for some reason the workers were not eligible for EI.  The mayor of the day came to me with his problem, they could get Federal funding (this was the early 1980’s) but there was no village employee to supervise.  Could I keep eighteen men busy for twelve weeks?

The gauntlet had been tossed, I met with the men and we choose a fore man from their ranks. They concentrated on cleaning the banks of the river from Stickney to Bristol and giving all three villages a thorough cleaning.  The foreman checked in with me on a daily basis. The men were happy so worked well, the villages never looked better.

And no one asked me if I was  a leader.