I think at one time or another, every child dreams of being famous. I certainly did. (I wanted to be a theater and film star.) Few actually achieve global name recognition, and many who do are not leaders in any way. The good news is being a significant leader doesn’t require fame or notoriety. Start where you are. Leadership is a series of small, daily choices that inspire those around you to be their best.
Miep Gies was a child in the foster care system who grew up to become a secretary in a spice plant in Amsterdam. She was a relatively invisible member of society – who made a life-changing decision. Faced with the potential of what she believed to be a horrible wrong, she decided to protect a family that would have otherwise been arrested and executed by the Nazis. She made a series of small daily choices that included where to buy food for the hidden family, how much she could buy each day without suspicion, when to make deliveries to them, and how to dispose of their waste. Any error in judgment could have easily cost them – or her their life. For two years, she, her husband, and a handful of trusted others under her humble leadership protected the Franks until they were betrayed by someone at the spice plant and discovered.
After the Franks were arrested, Gies retrieved Anne’s diary and kept it safe until after the war, when she returned it to Anne’s father, Otto, the only surviving family member. The name Anne Frank, the 13-year-old who went into hiding, is known worldwide. Few people know the name of the woman who facilitated their concealment for two years, but that doesn’t make Miep Gies any less of a leader for having selflessly orchestrated their protection.
Closer to home, my father, The Colonel was a tremendous, significant leader. His contribution to the United States Air Force and the planes they fly can still be felt today, and yet few outside of the USAF and our circle of friends and family knew his name. Being a significant leader does not require fame or notoriety, merely a commitment to lead and to facilitate growth in others.
Read Lauren’s Whitepaper on The Nine Essentials of Significant Leadership.