Talk Just to Talk

I am an advocate of speaking up, putting in your two cents, and letting it be known when you agree or disagree. I am also a firm believer that when someone opens up the floor for a volunteer......it is better to volunteer than to be left behind.......but that subject is for another day.

I am not a fan of situations that arise where people talk just to be heard. You all have seen this happen. Someone attempts to take over a meeting, get on their soapbox, and tell us all what we should be doing better......while all the while, they have not been doing their part to set the example for us. The "you should do this" or "if I were you I would have done that" or "we should be doing this.". When you evaluate these situations, often times the person preaching is, or has been, in our shoes. Is that what they did, or are doing? It's doubtful, otherwise the leader in the room would be pointing out to everyone that we should handle the situation more like that guy. In many cases, the guy at hand has not himself done what it is he's saying we should do.

I believe this is a strategy of deflection. If he can point out what we're doing wrong, it draws attention away from his weaknesses. He's bringing the attention to himself, simply to
draw the attention away from him.......if that makes any sense.

Do's and don'ts should not be taught from one person to another by preaching them, they should be taught by setting an exemple to follow. Suggestions are much more powerful when the person teaching has done it before, and is willing to do it again. Most of us our striving to be leaders, but all of us are looking for leaders to follow. Even the best leaders follow the example of leadership before them. Leadership is not something you gain by standing up and saying what we should be doing differently. Leadership is not self-proclaimed. Others around you decide if you're a leader worth following, and this is something that is too often over looked. The phrase "don't talk about it, be about it" is a great demonstration of what I look for in leaders. I dont want someone to tell me what they would do if they were in my shoes, I want them to lead me into execution. If you want to be a leader, all you have to do is simply lead.

**I allowed convenience to take precedent over better judgement tonight, and in doing so, I convinced myself that Applebee's has some of the worst food imaginable. Kudos to the Springhill Suites in Las Cruces, NM.......it's one of the nicer ones I've been in.