Search the Site |
Age Requirement for Leadership?
I was recently at the grocery store when I witnessed the following...
It Starts out a Normal Shopping Experience Mom was command post central. She had, what appeared to be, a total of 3 children. I have no way of knowing if all 3 were hers, or not. There was a toddler in the cart and 2 others, I'd guess to be the ages of 4 and 8. She would strategically park her cart at the end of the isle and send the two ‘free to move around' children for specific food items within the aisle. As it stands to reason, the 4 year old was responsible for low shelved items; the 8 year old targeted the higher shelves. The 8 year old wasn't shy, he asked adults to reach things on shelves that were beyond his arm's length. Ear Deafening Noise They toddler in the cart decided shopping was no longer fun. Screaming and crying like the mom was pinching and twisting the cute, little fat roll on the inner thigh (why are fat rolls cute at that age?). She kept pleading, "Please stop crying for mommy" and several other phrases of bribery, mixed with desire. Finally, the 8 year old had enough. He marched to the cart and pushed his mom out of the way. He cupped his hands around the screaming toddler's red face. Puffed a breath of air directly into his face, enough to quiet the toddler for a few seconds and clearly stated: "If you don't stop crying, we will never leave this store. We will never get back into the car and we will not know what happens to Sponge Bob". With that, he walks to the next aisle. Blissful Silence Mom and toddler, both quietly dumbfounded. All other grocery store patrons are silently cheering while jumping up and down. I didn't hear a peep during the rest of my shopping event. Was the 8 year just fed up, or was he demonstrating leadership skills? You tell me! Is this helpful? Please let us know in the comments your thoughts on this as well as other ways we can help you with your career and training. The author, Diahann Boock, is the founder of Women's Ally. For information about working with Diahann, check out our Programs. blog comments powered by Disqus |