I’ll come right out and say it: I’m not a leader. I never have been, probably never will be.  I don’t crave the spotlight, the responsibility, nor do I want any of the accolades that come with being a successful leader either.  It’s not my personality style.  I’ve reserved, quiet, and it takes a while for me to truly trust those around me.

Now that you’ve had your chance to go “awww” or “buck up”, do understand this, I’m a darn good follower.  On projects, I’ll be at the meetings on time, I’ll be prepared with my part, and I’ll be ready to help out as needed.  I love working with people, seeing how they tick, how they respond to various leadership styles, and just being there in the moment, engaged in what we are doing.

This leads me to the conclusion that while I may not ever want that leadership mantel, I will surely take the mantel of “worker bee”.  I lead by example that way, by being the best worker that I can because this is how things get done, by the workers, the followers of the world.  A friend of mine from out East always says that while he doesn’t want to lead, he wants the award of “Best Worker Bee”, to which I whole heartedly agree.

There will always be those who want to lead, want to step up and show what they can do.  I welcome those people, because for me, my leadership simply comes from helping them to lead us to great successes both in and out of the classroom.