Some of you might not be aware that this past Sunday, Mother’s Day, I spoke at the TEDx Colorado Springs event. There were so many turning points and milestones leading up to that day, but the one thing that hit me like a ton of bricks was the level of support my family provided me.
To participate in this event, it took nothing short of amazing amounts of tears and frustration. Honestly, I had to sacrifice some time with my kids so that I could perform at my best on that one day, during those 13 minutes of my talk.
The day before the event, I received word from the TEDX organizers that we would be on the news the following morning. It was optional and only a few speakers were selected. I was one of those speakers. I was already really exhausted from all the practicing and other projects and lack of sleep and mentioned the opportunity to my kiddos. Without hesitation, they said, “Mom, you have to do it.!” This was so uplifting. By seizing the opportunity, this would mean that we would get up at 3 AM and head over an hour away to arrive for a 5:30 AM news segment.
This didn’t phase my kiddos. They wanted this for me. They prepared themselves for the entire day and remained positive and supportive.
This got me thinking about who we surround ourselves with as leaders. Do the people that you keep close to you support you in the ways I described above with unrelenting support and belief, willing to do anything so that you can shine? Would you do the same for them?
As leaders, we often bring people onto our teams, because we need help, but then we discover that there is no alignment. What measures are we taking to ensure that our people are supporting our personal mission, vision and values? Will they stand or will they cave?
How appropriate for me to be with my biggest supporters on Mother’s Day. What’s even more inspiring than my talk was the level of commitment, pride and grit my kids showed while they embarked on the day that got them up at 3:00 and back home by 8PM that night. My 12-year old, 14-year old and 16-year old sat listening to 11 speakers before ever hearing me. They never complained and thanked me for the experience.
I thanked them even more for standing by me and supporting my leadership.
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P.S. I will share the video once it goes live, which probably won’t be for about 2 months.
Please share this article with those who might benefit. I appreciate you!
