I don’t really like boats.  Well, I take that back. Big boats freak me out.  I grew up in Oklahoma and the biggest boat that I was ever on growing up was a 20’ pontoon boat.  Little Big Town’s song “Pontoon” was pretty much my experience growing up on lakes in Oklahoma. I loved going skiing and fishing as a kid. I have great memories of getting pulled around the lake on an innertube.  

Moving out to California was a different story though.

I don’t know why, but the big boats scared me and in San Diego, you get to see some really big ones.  My friend and I were having lunch in San Diego, and in the distance we could see the Disney Cruise ship in the harbor.  It was huge, like a building on the water, which freaked me out a little. I could probably get on one and walk around on it if it were just sitting in the water, but out in the ocean on a cruise ship, or deep sea fishing?  No way dude. I’m out.

One cool thing about big boats though, is the effect they have on all the other boats.  When a big boat pulls into the harbor, it affects all the others. It raises them up, makes them sit a little higher on the dock.  

That’s a lot like what good leaders do.  They raise everyone else around them up a little bit.

Of course, I’m not just writing about boats, but as leaders, we can learn a thing or two from them.  Have you ever thought about the effect you have on those around you, even when you aren’t looking or intending to?  That’s a mark of a true leader. Leaders raise the level of everyone around them.

I woke up this morning with the word “value” on my mind.  What’s my value? What’s your value? Not in the “worth” sense of the definition, but in the “extra” sense of the word.  Like a good infomercial, you can watch the whole infomercial, but it doesn’t matter what that guy is pitching, he’s eventually going to get to the “but wait!” portion of the commercial.  That’s what I’m talking about; what’s your “but wait”? What’s your “there’s more”? What’s the extra that you are giving for the price people pay for your services? What makes you a “deal” to have around?

I think there are three things we can do to increase our value to those around us as leaders.

There’s really only one way to know for sure if you are a leader, and that’s to simply look behind you and see if anyone’s following.  If you look back and see a line forming behind you, then be intentional about being a value to your followers. These three things will make you incredibly valuable as a leader, and by putting these things in practice today, everyone around you will feel a little taller.

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