Health & Fitness
Leadership: Immediate vs. Inspirational
How we might benefit in our personal lives from a shift in which type of leadership we seek.
It seems as though we, both as individual communities and as a country, are placing a premium on leadership. It’s worth noting as early as possible that, though they can be used as an exemplary means to an end, I’m not specifically referring to political leaders.
Rather, the focus should find its place squarely on a “leader” as a function of any organization to which we may belong. We have obvious leaders (i.e. future graduates of George Mason Law). On the other hand, we have many leaders within the different realms of our very own community. You can probably name all of the candidates in the race for the GOP nomination, but can you name any of the winners of the recent Central Library photo contest? (You can check them out here, if you were wondering)
Leaders come from all areas of life, however unlikely they may initially seem. Whether in the political arena or in our everyday, Ballston lives, we actively seek those few who we believe will rise from among us for a purpose that is two-fold.
First, on a visceral level, we want to believe that our leaders will solve our problems, that they will take tangible, measurable action on our behalf to accomplish an improvement in our lives of one sort or another. Often, we demand this type of leadership (or at least the promise thereof) from our political leaders and business owners (specifically, service based businesses on which we rely to solve our immediate problems).
Second, on a decidedly more profound and often overlooked level, our leaders need to serve our interests in an alternate capacity: an inspirational capacity. They must inspire us so that, as they rise from among us, they empower each of us to rise with them. While this is sometimes a characteristic of incidence we occasionally find in our leaders, we rarely demand it. My question is: why?
Why do we think only of the short term, minor benefits provided by the half measures of so many types of leaders when we could place a premium on our own, long term improvement (and subsequent advancement) as a direct result of the inspiration provided by a more rare type of leader?
As a case study, College Hunks Hauling Junk and College Hunks Moving provides some insight into the benefits of placing a premium on the latter type of leadership discussed herein. College Hunks, as a service-based business, serves the Ballston community and shows the effects of both granting and seizing the opportunities provided by such leadership.
The cornerstone of the College Hunks organization is their effort to build leaders from among employees within the company, even at the “lowliest” rungs of the company ladder. Inspiration is provided through opportunities for each employee to act as a CEO. Corporate employees and franchise owners / managers aside, the team members on the trucks decide when and how to market their service between jobs. They control a portion of their own revenue based on their time-management abilities. The sooner they get a job done (thereby saving the company time and money) the more money they earn for themselves. If they don’t market their services properly, they risk a subsequent lack of work on the docket for the following days.
This type of self-advancement opportunity provided by College Hunks is an example of how, if given the proper motivation / inspiration, leaders will rise even from among otherwise common residents of a community. College Hunks encourages every team member to work hard and learn carefully in order to become leaders in their own rights, especially as entrepreneurs but, more broadly, in any area of life that strikes their interest.
Insofar as leadership goes, especially in and around Ballston, perhaps we should each make a personal shift in priority to actively seek those leaders who provide the seemingly intangible results (though they’re actually quite tangible when measured over a much longer period of time) in order not only to accomplish the goals of our near-sighted focus, but also to advance our individual causes that stretch far into the future.
If you’d like to enter the College Hunks Hauling Junk contest for a chance to win a $100 College Hunks Gift Card, check out the Facebook page by clicking here and tell us what WOWs you!
