Taming a Wild Stallion

I realized today that I'm a wild stallion.  At least I think that I'm a thoroughbred.  I'm not shy about speaking out.  I'm willing to stick my neck out.  That scares people.  At least it scares people who are a lot more timid than I am.  That's not a critique, in fact, most people are a lot more timid than I am.  So, I'm similar to a wild stallion.  If you try to put a lasso around me, I'll kick and scream.  I'll fight back.  I won't cooperate.  It's my nature, it's in my blood.  I'm an iconoclast.  I always have been.  I'm also a leader, not a follower.  Somehow, though, some people tend to avoid my leadership.  For lack of a better word, I think that they're turned off by it.  I wonder why?  I think I'm fairly lovable.  I'm certainly transparent.  You know what you're getting from me.  I'm open to criticism.  I share my emotions and feelings.  Hmmm.

I started thinking.  Michael Jordan was a leader on the basketball court.  To most accounts, he was pretty much an asshole to those around him.  Interestingly, there are many successful leaders who are assholes.  I guess people expect to be turned off by them, but somehow they just accept it.  I actually wonder if it's counterproductive to be a nice guy and a leader.  I don't know.  All I know is that I've been kicking doors down to get the voice of myself and my colleagues heard.  That still scares some of the people I work with.  They're still focused on a less confrontative approach to change.  Which maybe why there's been little change in the last thirty years.

A friend of mine shared a couple of Martin Luther King Jr. quotes with me today.  One of them was that "gradualism" isn't effective.  The other was "when you are right, you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong you cannot be too conservative."  I couldn't agree more.

I've been given lots of gifts in my life.  I've been given knowledge.  I find myself in the unique position of being able to share that knowledge and expertise in a way that can bring about change.  For those who want to tame me, I suggest that they talk to me and try to understand what I have to offer.  Trying to tone me down won't work.  First, I just won't have it.  Second, it's not productive.  I'll try to help them to understand this.