Toddlers have character. My daughter used to dance wildly whenever and wherever she heard music. In a shopping centre, at church, in a lift, at her eldest sister’s Christmas concert – if she heard music she had to move. But somewhere along the line she stopped. She also stopped wearing head to toe rainbow colours, and painting a daily heart on her cheek. I guess she figured out ‘that’s not what people do.’
If I asked her now what makes her unique, I wonder if she could answer. Leaders embrace things that make them unique – it could be their dry northern wit, their unbridled passion for discovering new bands, the habit of asking profoundly deep questions in the middle of a seemingly everyday conversations. These traits become part of the stories others tell of them, their humanness – and, it makes them memorable. Being memorable matters.
