Catch me by surprise...

Practice humility. Shine a light on others, give your teammates credit, volunteer to help, take accountability, seek out feedback, ask others for their opinion, truly listen to people and be open to having your mind changed. Embrace mentorship. Rely on others to assist you, challenge your thinking and celebrate you. Create your inner circle. Identify four to five irreplaceable, intentional friends in your life and intensely develop those relationships; choose people who already have a vested interest in your success. Sounds easy, right?

Leaders are not, as we are often led to think, people who go along with huge crowds following them. Leaders are people who go their own way without caring, or even looking to see, whether anyone is following them. They don't have the qualities that enable them to attract followers, but those that enable them to do without anyone following their path. They include, at the very least, courage, endurance, patience, humor, flexibility, resourcefulness, stubbornness, a keen sense of reality, and the ability to keep a cool and clear head, even when things are going badly. I wonder if I have what it takes, and if a true leader would wonder at all.