On Tuesday I posted about watching as two airport fire trucks doused a plane as it was pulling up to a terminal. If you missed it, click here to go check it out.
Now, the rest of the story. Contrary to my worries, the plane was fine. In fact, it was a plane filled with military veterans. They were arriving in Washington DC on what is called an Honor Flight.
Those of us in the terminal gathered around as the passengers disembarked, and clapped as they passed by. It was remarkable.
I could wax eloquently about the lessons we could learn from the faithfulness of those walking by, or the impact it had on my life, or the joy of sharing that moment with my daughters. But I’m not going to do that.
Instead, let me tie into Tuesday’s post and unknown reasons.
I had no clue what was happening. I had no idea an Honor Flight even existed. But there’s a large network dedicated to Honor Flights. People spend countless hours and energy preparing and carrying out trips.
I watched as one stood in the terminal. She was beaming with joy not because people were recognizing her effort, but because people were honoring these heroes.
The core of leadership is setting other people up to win, regardless of recognition.
My leadership is not better when I get recognized My leadership is best when someone I’m leading gets recognized.
This is why I love working with student leaders. I want to set them up to win long after they are in my realm of influence. I want them to grow and achieve more than I ever could dream, but it has to start somewhere.
We all have to start somewhere.
Are you ready to invite and equip leaders around you? What are you waiting for?