The thing with leaders and people who we admire/ look up to is that we try to imitate and copy them. Take the traits we like and make them our own.. which is fine, but halo-led plagiarism isn't going to help anyone if we don't modify traits and make them fit for purpose.
Returning to previous thoughts around the leader who I most admire and why, I was asked last week to draw the attribute that person has.. so I drew the below.
To much amusement, this is a stick man representing me, bouncing on a trampoline which is my Dad. I've not lost the plot. A trampoline represents support. I would go as far as saying all of my admired leaders have a position around the outside of this.. all holding tight but in their own position.
A a person jumps, the outcome isn't a result of the trampoline springs alone, but mainly built up of the effort put in by the jumper.. ie: me. This effort is supported by the springs and trampoline.
You kind of need an even spread for this to work. Springs all on one side help nobody, just a half hearted point of relying too much on the same people. A spread across the circle creates a starting point, but I guess those springs have to be springs.. not like metal pylons or tree branches who will snap under any pressure. But people who trust that your bounce wont hurt them, but test them as much as you.
That trampoline will support you on your way up from a jump, but also support you on your way back down. But the key to jumping high is the effort you put in.
My Dad has always encouraged me to make my own mistakes and do what I enjoy even if it doesn't make me reach the highest peaks of financial wealth.. it's about enjoyment and that's worth a lot more. So it's up to me as the jumper to try a back flip [not advisable], or to land on my bottom, to find a rhythm and jump as high as I can consistently or whatever I choose.
If my Dad is the person I admire most and we copy those who we hold close.. is it wrong for me to want to be a trampoline or even just a spring? Does it make sense that after being put in an environment to allow mistakes to happen, I'm happy to offer that support to other people?
Maybe that's where I'm at. By examining who I admire as a leader, I can see similarities and start to link where my traits may have been born or stolen from.
Is it then irony, that after speaking to my Dad about leadership stuff, he said he has support me and my siblings to be who we want to be.. but I've ended up being a bit like him? This may not be so, but the research is pretty strong. If we pick up behaviours from those who we admire, copy them on an unconscious basis, maybe we can conform to the personality and character of a person as a whole.
Research also suggests we resist things we don't agree with.. but we cant agree with something until we have an opinion or reason not to. Where does that reason come from? Experience and previous habits. Where do initial habits and opinions come from.. those who we're around a lot as a child and growing up.
Only when we stop and think, are these my values or those of someone I spend a lot of time with. Are these my opinions, or those of someone who I want to impress.
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