Now we can have ice cream

Yesterday we had fajitas for dinner. As we were finishing, we were having a delightful family conversation, during which my six-year old boy brought a clean plate to the table and placed it next to me. Then he left, and brought another, then another. Soon I had a stack of clean, dry plates next to me.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I washed them, rinsed them off, dried them, and now their done," he replied.

"Thank you--that's amazing!"

"...so now, we can have ice cream and watch a movie," he said definitively.

What could I say? That's exactly what we did. This six year-old, sixth child in the family, had led the whole group toward a goal. I could say it was his goal, but everyone else wanted to do the same activity. He had simply taken a leadership role.

Not actually what we had last night :-)

Following his example, the rest of the children pitched in, putting leftovers away, sweeping the floors, cleaning the counters--and pulling out the ice cream.

It's not always--in fact it's often not--the leader with authority who pulls everyone into action. In sports, it can be a teammate who pulls everyone together with an inspiring performance. In business, it can be someone who thinks deeply about a problem and proposes a real solution that others then rally around. It can be someone who shares helpful thoughts with others that grow into shared understanding.

Where I live, today we celebrate the pioneers who traveled west to establish cities and a people. Most of those who traveled had no formal authority. But their actions changed the course of a people, and the country.

How can you lead from where you are? Look around--who could use your help, either technically or personally? What challenges are you in a unique position to see and solve? What can you do to create the space for others to find solutions?