Is our culture ready for a new generation of leaders?

It took me many, many years to express myself as a leader and many more to embrace the title.

Why?

So many reasons…

Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash

• Because I’m an Aussie and that would mean I’m ‘up myself’ i.e. implying that I’m ‘better’ than others.
• Because then there were followers and who wants those pesky responsibilities.
• Because I did not feel solid enough within myself to claim such a title.
• Because I thought I was too young, not smart enough, to flighty, too unprepared, not serious enough, not ready enough — the list goes on.
• Because I thought I was wrong.

And the thing is this list is just the tip of the iceberg. Yes — it’s about self-esteem and self-talk. But that’s not the only thing such lists are about.

I don’t feel any of these things any more (well, not most days anyway) — in fact, as society would recognise I have actually become rather ‘up myself’.

In Australia it is not the cultural norm to work hard towards the goal of being recognised as a leader. And because this is not the norm there are a whole bunch of mechanisms NOT in place — (and a whole lot of BS, very expensive ‘programs’ in place where a community of support should be)*