Lead By Example

I don't consider myself a leader. I don't always pick the optimal game plan when deciding what to do with my work so I certainly don't get up on the podium and tell anyone to follow my lead. However, I've learned that sometimes this makes me the person that people want to follow. Not unquestionably; all for the best because I don't aspire to be a cult leader or the first and last say in how things are done. What often draws people though is that I don't just say I will do something. Often, I don't say it at all. It just gets done.

Leading by example is not an organized effort, at least when it comes to who comes along. Being at the front of a project comes with a lot of responsibility and the expectations for success will rest on that figurehead. If anything, when I've become a leader, the ideal scenario involves people who want to work beside me and aren't afraid to share their ideas with confidence. I'm sure you may have seen many memes or articles citing the differences between a leader and a boss and there's a lot of truth to that. Some might claim that a boss is more confident because they unquestionably take charge, but I have learned that it takes a lot of confidence to pass the baton around and risk making other ideas more valuable.

When I worked in floral, it had started as a paycheck. I had a really cool boss who wasn't really authorative at all and gave me a lot of creative freedom. I hadn't thought of it as a means to get ahead, just had fun with it. Around the Christmas season, I took a gamble and signed out these little foam activity kits where you could assemble little sleighs, trees, snowmen, poinsettias and so on. I grabbed some leftover bouquet paper we saved and turned some scrap cardboard into little decorative plaques that I glued to the card holders we place in bouquets and arrangements. I stuck them a series of custom arrangements, maybe ten, and they sold out in two days. I'd only been working there for six months but I was immediately scouted to be trained as manager.

When I was sent to learn from the top manager in our area, she was a completely different person but reminded me of my favorite science teacher, Mr. Koehler. She was a ball buster, super organized but refreshingly open-minded still, just had an efficient way of doing things. She took my strengths and my weaknesses and refined me into an amazing florist. The job didn't last for a number of long-winded reasons but what I learned through both my relaxed boss and my militant teacher was immensely valuable. Two very different styles that I used to be liked, respected and razor-sharp as a creative.

After that job fizzles out, I immediately decided I wanted to be a professional creative. I didn't know what that meant yet but I started in animation and realized I wanted a more diverse major and switched to graphic design. I only intended to get my associate's degree but I was a damn good student and stayed to earn my bachelor's. I would go out of my way to write papers explaining the methods and logic of design and share them with other students. Many of my teachers asked my permission to share my projects as prime examples for future students. These weren't the intentional actions of a leader, just a burgeoning passion to share and contribute to the quality of a field I love.

You may not immediately see the value of going above and beyond. That's a phrase we try not to roll our eyes or smirk at when it comes up in an interview. Nonetheless, sometimes passion plays the leader. Push yourself without promise of a reward but certainly demand your worth once you recognize it.