Compassion, comparison, competition

Two heads might be better than one, but beyond that, life gets a little bit crazy. Being part of a team or staff means not only working toward a common goal, but also figuring out what role each person will play in the journey toward achieving said goal. It's a delicate balance between being assertive and attentive, being a leader and a follower at different points throughout the group relationship.

I think leadership style is a lot like trying to jump into the middle of someone else's conversation. You wait for the right moment to contribute your own two cents to the topic of discussion, and successful integration is a tricky task to master. The ideal situation is that your comment or follow-up to a point made will add to the conversation rather than cause an awkward gap of silence as the previous conversationalists try to figure out how the heck you fit into the picture.

The catch is that joining a conversation means, first of all, knowing the context, and second of all, gauging the banter and tone of the talk from a distance. Jumping rope, timing the entrance just right.

Being visible without being overbearing. Deliberate without being controlling.

Diving headfirst into this leadership role is really proving to be a test of how I think, how I interact, how I can speak in a way that actually enhances the conversation.

I'm working on getting this timing thing down, that's all.