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The Other Side

Leadership

Ryan Leak was at the top of his game — speaking to Fortune 100 companies, coaching executives, filling arenas — when he stopped and did something most successful people never do. He asked the people closest to him a question that made him uncomfortable just forming the words: What is it like to be on the other side of me?

 

Not what he intended. Not what he thought he projected. What did people actually experience when they dealt with him? The answers came back honest, insightful. and a little hard to hear. The sober truth is a critical ingredient to growth and something most of us don’t want to ask for.

 

That kind of courage doesn't come naturally. We are too busy managing outcomes, hitting numbers, and solving problems to stop and ask whether the way we're showing up is helping or hurting the people around us.

 

"Can one blind person lead another? Won't they both fall into a ditch? Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher." (Luke 6:39-40) 

Jesus didn't just teach with words. He taught with his posture, his presence, and his attention. People felt something when they were around Him. The woman at the well. The tax collector in the tree. The fishermen on the shore. He left people different than He found them — and He calls us to the same standard.

 

Your team, your clients, your colleagues, your family — they already have an answer to Ryan's question. The only issue is whether you're brave enough to ask it.

 

Three questions to carry into work today:

• Do people leave conversations with me feeling clearer, or more confused?

• Do they feel seen, or just used?

• Would I want to be led by me?

 

You don't have to be perfect, that’s not possible. You just have to be honest enough to ask. Don't blindly lead others into the ditch, or worse, fall into the ditch alone because nobody is following. What's it like to be on the other side of you?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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