Victim of Circumstance

By Michael Fehlauer

According to Zig Ziglar, being a victim of circumstance is the same thing as your body reacting to the wrong kind of medication. Most people react. Reacting is what managers do.

Responding carries with it more thought. It is better than merely reacting. Because responding usually involves more time, it has the appearance of leadership. Organizations respond to the competition. Co-workers respond to one another. But, responding still doesn’t create change.

There is a third option - initiate. Initiating involves seeing what others miss and taking action. Initiating involves being pro-active. This is what leaders do! Leaders create events that cause others to react. They set the pace and create an environment where change takes place. They challenge the status quo. Leaders are never the most popular, but they are the ones who decide what kind of world we live in.

Can you think of a situation that caused you to react? Are you now facing an opportunity to initiate change? Have you passed up that opportunity?