The Role of a Leader

I have a very insignificant job, very unenlightening, and very outside the realm of any real influence in the world. However, it, like any other position in any other occupation, has its own culture and its own world of devotees.

I am a field manager for the company I work with, meaning that I run one of the retail locations that it operates. I'm the boss. I'm the guy people talk about when they're alone, and the guy people all try to be good friends with. I'm the guy that gets to solve the world's problems by taking care of business in my own little sphere of influence.

I've noticed a slight change in attitude in myself as I've grown more comfortable with my position. At first, I was a real go-getter - no one would stop me from being the best, most reliable, most dedicated, highest grossing nobody that company would ever see. And I succeeded in making a good image around me, though I may have fell short of my rather ambitious goals above. But I was always engaged, not caring who I ran over or pushed out of the way to get where I was going. After all, I had to be the best because I wanted to raise a family some day. I wanted to make the money.

Now, my attitude has evolved. I'm still in it for the support of my family - they are almost solely the reason I work so hard now. But there is another aspect of my job that has grown on me, and has caused me to reach within myself and strive to not only work hard, but to make myself an example for others.

I enjoy being a leader. Not just a manager, or a boss - but a leader. There are those, for whatever reason, who actually look up to me. There are those who actually listen to my opinions and emulate them. There are those that look to me as though I have all the answers, and I feel ashamed if I let them down. I actually care that these people see me as the go-to guy. I refer to them often as "my guys", as opposed to "my employees" or my "coworkers". The team that I've built is an important aspect and reflection of myself. "My guys" help define who I am in this alternative universe of Joe that I refer to as "work".

Many people see their boss as someone they have to be weary or suspicious around. There's always a negative connotation when people speak of their bosses. But with me, I honestly feel there's a different connection. There's a trust, a team effort, and the things I see people do I actually feel that they do them so that I'll look good, not them. There seems to be an almost symbiotic relationship that we all share.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there's a few bad apples in the bunch. No one is 100% popular.

However, I feel that this newly realized attitude towards my position at my job helps to even further define my role outside of my work life. At work, I'm father-figure, therapist, referee, goalie, cheerleader, bouncer, and protector. At home, with friends, I feel that I am the same - and I believe those lessons have been learned through my job.

I enjoy my job because of the people that I'm around. It's not the drive for personal success that keeps me going at the job now. It's the drive to show that others can be just as successful. I enjoy my work, because I feel that I have lessons that I can teach others to help them succeed. The benefits of those feelings, the feelings that I can actually do good for other people, far outweigh the feelings of individual accomplishment.