What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say - Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you’re in any form of leadership role, you might feel the pressure to be a role model. People are looking at you, right? You’re expected to be the epitome of leadership. The shining beacon of what we stand for. The model of perfection.

Just a little bit of pressure, right?

Let’s take the pressure off.

What if we thought of a role model as someone who doesn’t model perfection, but instead models a process? And what if that process was the process of learning, the process of figuring it out as we go, the process of not getting it right all the time yet at the same time being awesome at sharing that we don’t have all the answers, that we’re learning, that we’re courageous and vulnerable? Like the rest of us wish we were?

What might happen then?

Here’s what I reckon might happen: we’d attract people to our mission  because we’re accessible. Because we’re humble. Because we’re brave. Because we’re committed to creating something better by learning and improving every day. We’d bring people along with us. Which is, really, what leadership is all about, right?

If you’re feeling the pressure to be a role model, relax. You don’t need to get it right. You just need to model what being human is all about.