LEAD or BE LED

How do you determine if you are leading or being led? I think a good leader needs to know how to make such a determination in order to be effective. I posed a few questions on the subject to the Ambassadors and a few close friends. I received the following from Rose Caplan, and thought I’d share them with you:

Rose: In a nut shell I believe in order to be successful a person has to lead and be led. You couldn't be more clear that you are being led to empower Black males to lead and transform Atlanta by God.

CJ: How would you describe Atlanta in 20 words or less?

Rose: Bedrock of civil rights leadership and as diverse in its citizenry as it is in the economic disparity among them.

CJ: What are three strong indicators that someone is leading in Atlanta?

Rose:

· They are having ongoing success in implementing and attaining the mission and vision of the organization.
They experience ongoing development of close relationships based on mutual respect and trust where both leader and the led learn and grow toward the same goal.
There is an willingness to collaborate with others at higher levels success and influence.

CJ: What are three strong indicators that someone is (not leading) being led in Atlanta?

Rose:

· Their actions, words, and decisions are ignored, not listened to or followed.
Relationships with others on their team are superficial, lack collaboration, are a one-way street, absent the give and take of new ideas. They make decisions and take actions in isolation without benefit of input and learning from others on their team.
They are unwilling to be led themselves.

Rose: Finally, here is a quote I like: If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. ~John Quincy Adams

I welcome your comments and thoughts as well. What criteria would you use to determine if you are leading or being led?

Rose Caplan and I at the 2015 L.E.A.D. Ambassador Signing Day

Sources: http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikemyatt/2012/01/17/how-the-led-can-change-the-leader/#31483ff75205 target=”_blank”>

How The Led Can Change The Leader and http://www.leadershipdynamics.com.au/great-leaders-are-led.htmltarget=”_blank”>Great Leaders Are Led

Somebody Told A Lie One Day

"Somebody told a lie one day..." - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Nothing has shaken up my life more than the experience I had through my participation in Leadership Atlanta. In addition to the endearing relationships I developed, the program also gave me a gift: KNOWLEDGE. This knowledge has been both a blessing and a burden. 

I became more knowledgeable about various issues that affect Atlanta and the world, but none touched me as much as the issue of RACE. 

I believe that with knowledge comes the burden and responsibility of sharing it, so that I can work with others on solutions to current problems affecting us today. By carrying this out, however, I always run the risk of being "that guy" who always talks about RACE. I become “that guy” that makes people feel uncomfortable, embarrassed, and disgusted each time I raise the issue of RACE. What I've learned is that RACE doesn't exist, but RACISM does and the latter is a nasty disease. I have come to realize that it can be a curable disease in some and a terminal one in others. This disease is steeped in our history - not just BLACK history - but AMERICAN history. It's a part that is seldom told or told properly. I have come to believe that it is my duty with the voice and platform that God has given me to make sure as many people - young and old, all colors - are educated and informed about how our Country became infected with the insidious falsehood of RACE and the disease of RACISM that has resulted. 

I agree with a statement Dr. King made in one of his speeches shown in the video above . . . "somebody told a lie one day". It is important for us to know who that "somebody" was, what that "somebody's" motives were, who the lie has affected and its long lasting impact, and how we can all begin the healing process to right the wrong. 

Consider all Americans family, and RACISM our family secret. Like any family secret, it chokes the life out of familial relationships until it's dealt with truthfully and wholly. In my series of blogs and posts for Black History Month, it is my intention to deal with this family secret truthfully and wholly. Some may not like it and that's ok. I'm not on Earth to please everybody; I'm on Earth to please God by carrying out the DIVINE PURPOSE that He has spoken over my life. 

Dr. King was right; somebody did tell a lie one day . . . but I am here to tell the TRUTH.

I pray we all can handle it and accept the burden that comes with knowing it. 

Here we go...

Note: In some of my blog posts and social media posts, I will provide information on suggested resources that go deeper into the issue. If you have some resources I should know about, please share them with me.

Suggested Resource: 

Race The Power of An Illusion (http://itvs.org/films/race/): 3-part series that can be found on YouTube

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