Why Should You Lead and Why Now?

If there is one thing this last Presidential election shows us is that people want change. At least they think they do. People may not necessarily want change, but what they don’t want is the same leadership. When leaders become disconnected from their tribe they can no longer cause that tribe to move or change. As a result someone new must rise through the tribe to take leadership. For the Republican tribe that new leader who is emerging appears to be Sarah Palin. While I am not a fan of Ms. Palin, she is demonstrating something that I want you to see in answering the question of why you should lead.

Ms. Palin has leverage. She can say anything she wants and people follow. There are people who believe that she can take them where they want to go. Whether she can or not is yet to be seen, but because of leverage she is going to get the opportunity. What you need to realize is she created the leverage, not the other way around. People are looking for someone to lead them, if you speak out, you will be the leader. All you need is an opportunity. Chances are that if you see a need in your community or tribe for leadership in a certain area, that is all the opportunity you need. And if you move you will have all the leverage you need to lead.

The other thing Ms. Palin has is an ability to connect her tribe members. She gives them something to talk about, and a way to talk about it. She doesn’t organize every little group of followers, but she provides the context of the conversation. Whether it be in a book, speech, or interview, she is connecting her tribe members. Likewise you when you begin to lead, you will need a way to connect others. Wayne Jacobsen and Brad Cummings have a website called TheGodjourney.com. They have a weekly podcast, a blog, and forums to connect their tribe members. As a result people all over the world are connected to one another discussing relationship with God outside of performance based theology.

There has never been a better time in history for people of any education, ethnic, or cultural background to lead. There are opportunities for you to create leverage, and connecting people has never been easier.

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