You Might Be a Leader If

The other day someone asked me a question about leadership, “What characteristics make a great leader?”

This reminded me of one of my favorite comedy skits, Jeff Foxworthy’s “You Might Be a Reckneck If.” It is a classic. If you haven’t seen it, you can watch it out on YouTube.

It goes like this: “You might be a redneck if…” Then, he fills in the rest of the sentence with an applicable statement. Examples like you might be a redneck if…you cut your grass and you find more than three cars. You might be a redneck if…you think the stock market has a fence around it.

Applying Jeff Foxworthy and his signature phase “You might be a…if…” I would like to share my thoughts on characteristics I believe make a leader:

You might be a leader if you inspire people.

You might be a leader if you have influence.

You might be a leader if you lead like you are not in charge.

You might be a leader if you are a reader to educate yourself.

You might be a leader if you challenge your people to be the best they can be.

You might be a leader if you provide security and safety for your team members.

You might be a leader if you are driven by the bigger vision and not your own self gains.

Go ahead, try it. You’ll be amazed at what comes to mind when you think about this simple phrase.

You might be a friend of Marty if you pass on Marty’s Minute to a colleague. See how easy it is?

Until next time…I’m Marty, make every minute count.