Leadership Matters -- The First Time I Experienced Leadership

   Take a look back at your life, when was the first time you experienced leadership? Was it the old lady that helped you cross the street so you could get to school? Maybe you saw a police officer helping direct traffic. Lets be honest, we all wanted to hold the sign to help people cross the street, and we wished we could be the ones directing traffic. Growing up, leadership is all around us, our parents may have been the first example of how we should behave, but like the other examples above, we saw leadership all the time.

  

Grandpa in his prime!

  My first memories of leadership come from my grandfather. When my brothers and I were young, we used to visit Mexico in the summers. We stayed in the small town my mother grew up in, Nacori Grande. My grandfather, Juan Manuel, was a gray haired, slender bodied, glasses wearing, Mexican man. He was quiet but had his tricks. Like the time he turned off the lights on new years eve 2000, everyone thought Y2K was going to be the end of the world. People freaked out, while he giggled in the corner. Grandpa was loved by everyone. Even his haters respected him. I once met an elderly man in Nacori. He told me, "Your grandfather is a great man, he whooped my butt a long time ago. I was a punk and no one else stood up to me but him.  God bless your grandpa." It was one of the saddest days in Nacori when grandpa passed away. All of Nacori came to  see him. The men of the town rotated as they guarded his casket, showing him a last sign of respect. The women sang songs to him. It was beautiful. Grandpa had influence, he was respected, and loved, he was a great leader.

    From Hermosillo, the capital of Sonora, to Nacori was about a 2 hour drive. Grandpa, my grandmother, my little brother and I would ride in our small minivan that was more metal than anything else. Those two hours seemed more like 10, it was horrible and hot. But for my grandparents this was their life, a simple, yet culture filled life.

If I  was going to break down my  grandfathers leadership traits, I would name them "The Wave, The Swoop,  and The Drop."

The wave

Leadership is more than just being face to face. Will people know you waved?

   

    While we traveled to Nacori during the hot months of  summer, I remember laying my sweaty forehead against the window, boredom rising to an all time high. I also remember this thing grandpa would do. We traveled on a two way  road. I would watch my grandpa as we passed trucks. He drove with a calm look  on his face. He held the steering wheel at twelve o'clock with only his right hand. As a vehicle would approach, coming in the opposite direction he would always pop his pointer and index finger up. As if  to signal a, hello, to the fast approaching vehicle. If  I looked carefully enough, I saw the other driver do the same. Did my grandpa know every driver on the road? I doubt it. But he showed respect to every driver.

    In our day to day, we walk by people, in the stores we shop,  at the gym, at school. What signs of respect do you give the people you pass by? When was the last time you said good  morning and looked at someone in the eyes? Its important for leaders to have the trait of acknowledging people that you may never meet but have interaction with. What's your best sign of  acknowledgment?

The Swoop

Can I get a ride?

    As I said earlier, we would drive in that heavy minivan for what seemed like days! Scorching heat waves, loud Mexican music that sounded like 200 trumpets all playing different songs. As we drove, we at times would see men walking on the side of the road. They were not stranded, or  hitchhiking. They were most likely walking home. Now looking back, these men most likely were tending to a ranch out in the middle of nowhere to make a little money. My grandpa would always stop and offer a ride to them. "Would you like a ride?" He would ask. Sometimes they would be hesitant to take the ride, "Listen you  son of a gun,you better get in or you're going to get heat stroke!" Grandpa would eventually figure out that the person he just picked up was a  friend of a friend, I call that old school version of Linkedin. By the time we got ready to drop them off, everyone would be best friends. Grandpa and grandma were a dynamic duo.

The Drop

What will people thank  you for?

    I cannot say enough how much I hated riding in that hot sweaty van! It was annoying to stop for people, I had to move to give them my seat, and my grandma would give them my lunch! I would become so irritated. My grandpa would drop the person off in their township, usually in the plaza. At times, they would reach for their wallet and ask to pay, but grandpa never took a dime. He never really said anything to them when he dropped them off. He said  "adios" in his own old man way. It sounded more like "Ayoo"

    Grandpa passed away when I was a young boy, and sadly enough it  was not until after his death that I understood his leadership. That time when we arrived in the Nacori, the township was desolate. The plaza was empty, no kids  running around. My mother noticed how alone the town felt, and it made her more sad. "Se muere tu tata y se muere Nacori" she cried. "Your grandpa dies, and Nacori dies with him."

    But then we turned the corner, to grandpas house. We could barely see it. There were dozens and dozens of people surrounding the house. The whole township was there! We pulled in and people took care of us. Getting out of the car, I saw grandpa’s casket on the porch. It was being guarded by four men, one at each corner of  the casket. They stood tall and looked straight  ahead. Like soldiers guarding their fellow soldiers body. As I walked into the house there were a whole lot of tears. But  I also noticed people serving, and working. The older women of Nacori sang hymns and prayers for grandpa. There were men in the backyard cooking carne asada. Women in the  kitchen cooking other foods for everyone. It was as if the entire township  came together to  serve our family. Nothing was missing. No one complained about anything. Everything was covered.  Pretty dope right?

   

Grandpa was not an inspiring person per say, but he was a great servant. I was so dumb! It took me  a while to  figure it out. But I am glad my grandfather swooped people, got to know them, and never asked for anything in return. The way Nacori came together to honor him and the rest of our family is a testament to who he was. I remember a few years ago when Michael Jackson passed away, seeing the thousands of people showing up in Los Angeles for his memorial. I thought to myself, my grandpa must have been Nacorie’s celeb! But he wasn't. He did not have any celebrity status. He just served people. And when he passed all of Nacori served him.

    I  believe that young people can learn from my grandpa. He said hi to people who passed by him. He knew that people mattered, even if he did not know them. He picked strangers up to help them get to their destination, he talked and joked with them.  And he never asked for anything in return. This is just one example of  leadership, but its one that anyone can see and take in.

Do you acknowledge the people who pass you by?

Do you offer people a hand if  they are in need?

What do you expect from people after you serve them?

Editor - Holly H