The Mystery of Leading….

 

One of the mysteries of leading is whether or not you made a difference. Did your guiding, teaching, caring, loving help to make that person a better person? More often than not, we’ll never know. That old saying, “We don’t know what we don’t know,” is powerfully true when attempting to lead others, maybe ourselves, too. I’ll have to ponder that one.

 

    It’s great when you DO learn whether or not “they got it.” If there’s evidence that they didn’t, you’ll quickly question what you might have done differently and more effectively. Don’t burn yourself out doing that. Too many external influences to figure that out.

 

    What a blessing when you discover that your effort DID work! I was with my daughter and her family in Missouri a couple of weeks ago. Elyse is my baby, so whenever she asks me to do something, I do it. You know what I mean if you have a daughter or daughters. Shortly upon my arrival, Elyse asked me if I would be willing to speak to the sixth graders at the middle school where she works. I love kids! All of them! I accepted her invitation after asking what she wanted me to talk about. Character and leading were what she was looking for the kids to get some guidance on. Those are my specialties, so I accepted, not realizing that she wanted me to do four talks that week. Hey! Anything for my girls!

 

    I talked with all of the sixth graders about making good choices and some of the virtues of good character, selflessness being one of those. As I just said, I didn’t know if they got it. I believed they did, but no way to know, until I did!

 

    I talked with my 11-year-old granddaughter’s class on the last day that I was there. Pequeña, my 11-year-old granddaughter, was in that class. She was like a sponge! She heard every word that I said, evidently. And understood the message. That evening, as we prepared to watch a movie together as a family, Pequeña asked if anyone wanted popcorn. We’re a popcorn-loving family, so everyone raised their hands. She was excited about popping that popcorn for all of us. She did, then filled a bowl of it for each of us. She’s a good popcorn popper, by the way. As we began watching the movie, I noticed that she didn’t seem to have a bowl of popcorn. I asked her if that was the case. She acknowledged that there hadn’t been enough for everyone, so she served everyone except herself. WHAT?! She’s eleven! What eleven-year-old kid does that?! Well, Pequeña does. She hadn’t said anything. She would have gone without had I not noticed. Luckily, her mom suggested that there might be a bag in the cupboard. She found it, popped it, and shared it again, this time, taking some for herself. You know that Warriors don’t cry…but sometimes our eyeballs sweat. Who’s crying? I’m not crying!

 

I can see that scene in my mind and my heart as if it were just occurring. There’s little better than knowing that HEIRPOWER! does exist and that you and I can help our followers and loved ones create it. Whether we’re “successful” will remain a mystery, but also a blessing when it’s validated. THANK YOU, Pequeña, for being you!

 

Until next time, be GREAT! You ARE!

 

HEIRPOWER!

 

bob vásquez!

Hispanic Heritage Month

Every year around this time, I’m approached by people with the same question,  “Hey, Chief,”  they ask,  “why do we have to have Hispanic Heritage Month?  Aren’t we all Americans?”  I never argue that a bit, but there’s more to it.  I’m sure you know we celebrate African-American/Black History Month in February, Women’s History Month in March, Asian-Pacific Month in May, Hispanic Heritage Month in September/October, and Native American Month in November.  The purpose of those observances is to educate those of us who don’t know a lot about those cultures, and to acknowledge the contributions those groups of people have made to our own American heritage. 

 

What makes America great is its diversity.  If you’ll look around you (go ahead, no one’s watching), you’ll notice that what we call America is made up of people from all kinds of cultures, from different parts of the country, or the world. We’re all different, yet we’re all the same. We share the same basic values that make us Americans. We’re invested in making our country and the world a better place for all of us to live. We believe in a democratic system of government where the people have a say in what and how we live. What makes America great is that, although we have different and diverse needs and desires, even though we’re all different, we’ve been able to synergize all those differences to form one unified family that allows us to be ourselves and to accept each other.

 

            We used to talk about the American Melting Pot.  An honorable idea, but I’m not sure it’s attainable.  Why?  Because there is very little, if any, chance that we’ll all “melt”, that we’ll all assimilate, that we’ll all be the same.  And I’m not so sure we all want to be the same.  I think it was General George Patton who said, “If two of us are thinking the same thing, we don’t need one of us.”  There’s a marked difference between thinking the same thing and thinking with the same purpose in mind. Diversity means we can think differently but attain the same goal.

 

The concept of the American Salad Bowl comes closer to describing the culture we live in.  The illustration of the salad bowl describes a dish that, as a whole, is its own entity, delicious and healthy.  What gives that dish its flavor and wholesomeness is all of the different ingredients that make it one.  Each ingredient adds its own contribution to the whole.  Any part of it that’s missing will affect the end result. 

 

            Dr. Stephen Covey said that “unity is not sameness, it’s complementariness.”  If we are to be united, we have to be willing to accept, appreciate, and celebrate each other’s differences. 

 

There’s plenty of propaganda stirring people to adopt a victim mentality when it comes to diversity. Accept your heritage as part of your identity. And contribute what you can to make America great. We can be great only by each of us behaving in that way. Learn as much as you can from everyone you lead, you follow, and you live with. We’re all different, yet we’re the same. We’re Americans! Together, we can go forward!  

 

                           ¡ADELANTE!

bob vásquez!