Does bigger necessarily make things better? The Colonel often said, “Take it from me, kid. Being bigger doesn’t make you better. Being bigger means you HAVE to be better because more eyes are on you all the time.”
One of my favorite football players of all time, J. J. Watt stands 6’5” and weighs in at roughly 290 pounds. There is no question that he is a large presence in any space he occupies. Before he retired, he could intimidate anyone on the field and bring players down with his sheer size. Off the field, however, Watt is an incredible leader—in his words and his actions, in the way he gives of his time, in his kindness and soft smile, and in the respectful way he treats everyone he comes in contact with. Watt knows that because of both his size and his celebrity as an elite athlete, people are watching him and looking to him to show the way off the field as much as they did on the field.
By the same measure, I think it might be too easy for someone small of stature to assume they are easily overlooked – or worse, that they can get by with small lapses of judgment or improprieties. Never think that. Mahatma Gandhi measured only 5’4” and topped off at 140 pounds, but he never let his small size prevent him from leading a nation to independence. He knew that a small voice, placed consistently in the right place with the correct message, could change the course of history.
My father was 6’6.5” tall and 285 pounds on his leanest day. He had a personality that entered a room five minutes before he did. But Dad never depended upon his size to intimidate others or get his way. He believed that because of his size, much more was expected of him. He believed he had to be kinder, make better choices, and lead by example all the time because he was so visible.
As leaders, it’s our responsibility, regardless of stature, to lead as we would want to be led and conduct ourselves as if someone is watching us all the time.
Read Lauren’s Whitepaper on The Nine Essentials of Significant Leadership.
