TED talks are a wonderful thing.  I try to watch one every morning to get my brain going and my spirit off to a positive start.  My latest thing is leadership.  I keep finding myself in positions of what others call “leadership”, but I certainly don’t feel like a leader.  Leaders are people who do things that I wish I could do but will probably never achieve. So I’ve been watching TED talks to see if there’s some magic trick to knowing that what I’m doing is good leadership and will teach me how to do it better.

I came across this gentleman Drew Dudley, and the title was Everyday Leadership.  Sounded promising.  What I learned from that talk is that I’ve been misinterpreting leadership.  I keep looking at the leaders in the world, in my profession, in my life, who make a real difference and say, I want to make a difference too, without realizing that I have made a difference, it’s just not the way I’ve always thought of it.  Leadership isn’t about titles, making lots of money, being splashed all over every type of media but it’s changing individual lives, a lot of times without you even knowing it.

Based on his talk, I’ll give you a couple of examples in my own life that mirrored his.  I’ve been lucky to have had MANY great leaders in many areas of my life.  For instance, my mother-in-law has been the best leader in terms of how to be a good wife and mother.  I know that I have changed by watching her example and hopefully that has affected my family in a positive way.  She would never recognize that in herself, but it has had great meaning to me.  I have a friend who I’ve known since high school.  He was and is extremely talented, intelligent and hardworking.  I don’t get opportunities to see him very often so I took advantage one time I was with him to express my gratitude for something he said to me in high school that changed how I approached life in general and our profession specifically.  As I quoted this to him, he looked confused and told me he didn’t remember it at all.  The important thing is that I did and it has changed my life for the better.

Of course, these are examples of how others have demonstrated everyday leadership to me, but the question is, have I demonstrated it to others on an individual basis?  You know, I work in one of the most amazing professions in the world and as do all teachers, we have the opportunity to affect many lives. But how often do we say things that really stick with a person and change the trajectory of their lives?  An example for me was a former student, now in her 30’s that I had taught for several years in music and choir in elementary/junior high.  After high school, she went to college to major in something practical, something she was good at, but was not her passion.  She remembered something I had said during some class about always following your passion.  I don’t remember it specifically, but I do encourage kids to do what they love and hope they do.  But what I said changed the direction of her life and she has followed her passion to become an Irish Dance teacher.  The effort she had to exert to accomplish this goal  was amazing, but even more amazing is the smile I see on her face on her social media pictures, doing what she loves.

What this very short talk has done for me is make me very aware that what we do for and say to each other on a daily basis is so important.  Everything you do, from saying something encouraging to showing simple acts of kindness can make a real, lasting  difference in someone’s life.  Take time to listen, pay attention, be honest and most of all be an example to everyone of what everyday leadership can look like.  I’m working on it!