Today, I want to recognize the most unheralded type of leader we know of.
We all know of the powerful person possessed of titanic will or the starry eyed dreamer with a world changing idea. These people, are rightly appreciated for their gifts and contributions.
But there was a time when the great leaders had yet to earn their fame. They were simply, Joe Schmoe, having no notoriety or giving off any external indicator of the greatness within.
But there was one person—one person who saw the character, who saw the idea, who saw potential of the person standing before him or her—and saw it before anyone else. They had to be a part of it.
One person with an idea is a quack. The first follower turns the quack into a leader. How many products of great minds or great innovations were snuffed out in their infancy because no one was there to give them that initial validation.
We need to do a better job at validating greatness before we recognize it as great.
I’m calling on each of you to step up. Find those individuals who are toiling alone on their big ideas. Give them the encouragement and the love they need to sustain them when the dream seems the farthest away.
Be the great leader that I know you are. Be the first follower!
