Leaders & Takers

I stood for some moments watching these ducks and I learned a lesson about leadership, maybe more than one lesson. You see, these ducks weren't all doing work to get the food amongst the kelp and seaweed at the shallow bottom. One duck was diligently diving while the others stayed above the fray, but just as diligently searching for the diving duck. As the non-diving ducks would see their compatriot surfacing, they would frantically move into position and begin to reach for whatever the one had worked hard to get.

There are leaders who, well, lead. I'm not thinking of delineating between good and bad leaders here, just that some people lead the way. They are the divers who search out new possibilities and work hard to gather resources.

There are takers who, well, try to take what leaders work hard at gathering.

What I didn't say early was that these were young ducks. They were learning but while one was learning the benefits of hard work the others were learning the idleness of being takers.

I wondered which one I have been exhibiting. Which one are you?