When I was growing up I never knew who to look up to. Everyone usually had a famous person that they admired and wanted to be like, but it was never that easy for me. My role model was, and still is to this day, my mom.
She always showed me that I can do anything that I set my mind to and showed me how to be the leader that I am today. Growing up, she was always the leader when it came to her work, no matter what she did. When she did concrete for the Union, she was the only woman there, but she never let that stop her.
I remember her coming home telling me that the other guys with crews under them never received the same respect from their crew members like my mom did and that those crews would often rather work for her. Now, she is in nursing and again, she shows great leadership skills. When I would go to work with her, she would always show me what a leader should do. I asked her what she did to gain the respect so clearly displayed by her co-workers and her answer really surprised me. She told me that she showed the girls she isn’t afraid to do the job they do. She said it shows them that she isn’t above them, that she did her time at the same role and worked her way to where she is.
I got from her that, even if I am a leader of a group, I need to pitch in and help, rather than just stand there and bark orders. Be an equal with them, and they will give you more respect than if you had yelled at them the entire time. She also showed me that if they do something wrong, don’t set them out in front of everyone, take them aside and talk to them one on one and help them learn how to do something right. She still to this day shows me that you can do great things if you have the support and respect of a team that wants to help you and isn’t scared of helping you.
We might not have had as much money or as fancy of objects as other people did, but we had what we needed. She would give up so much for me, so I could go out and do what I wanted. This taught me that a great leader will give up things for themselves to help other people.
If something would go wrong, she would not just give up. She would keep trying until the objective was finished the way that she wanted. She taught me that you should not just give up when something gets hard or you get knocked down. You just have to get right back up and keep fighting.
My life might have been crazy growing up and I might have had to get over some difficult objects in my life, but I know because of my mom teaching me how to be a great leader that I can make it in this crazy world. You do not have to be scared of doing something difficult or challenging in your life. You should always chase after what you want and help lead other people that want to be a part of it as well.
