We admire things; we admire people; sometimes we admire our leaders.  Take a minute to think about the people and leaders that you admire.  What qualities do they possess?  It is possible as well to admire people that you have never met, based on the qualities you hear about or see represented.

Frequently, I walk a three-mile loop through my neighborhood.  One of the houses that I pass on my walk is different from the rest.  Although I don’t know the people who live in this particular house, I greatly admire the woman of the household.  The inhabitants of the houses I pass remain mostly unseen.  I observe the lawns, the gardens and the pets that are racing to the edge of the yard to bark at me.  In this particular house, however, the mom is always out in the front yard playing with her children.  Today when I passed by she was playing soccer with her daughter and then switching off to shoot free throws in the driveway with the boys.  She was not watching them play, or checking Facebook on her phone while they played, she was playing with them.  I admire this woman whom I do not know.  Good leaders take the journey side by side those they lead.  They don’t direct from afar; good leaders are in the game participating in the work that has to be done.