One thing that wasn’t mentioned in the text, but I imagine I am not alone in is this: recognizing your potential to lead by watching others doing it BADLY.

I realize it sounds so negative, but honestly, this is what compelled me to lead. After I had enough experience where I felt like I knew “enough” about how to be a really good teacher, I started seeing with more depth and clarity the skills of those around me in leadership.

In short, I became more attuned to how they were (or weren’t) leading well. It was the experience of working with 2-3 particular leaders where I truly felt that I could do a better job than they were doing, particularly in the domain of digital leadership. This was an area I was becoming more and more confident in, and so it led me to think, “it’s time I do something about this.” And so I did.

I think prior to those moments, I was too quick to say, “Well, I’m new at this and don’t really have enough experience to suggest a better way of doing things.” But after I had enough experience and confidence, I was really “inspired by mediocrity” if that makes sense.

(On a separate note - where is “the conversation frame below”? Which conversation frame are you referring to? Thanks! :) )