Our future generation depends upon us to correct their paths and stand up for them. Ever walk into the grocery store and have to dodge the kids skateboarding on the sidewalks at lunchtime when they should be in school.  Does the addiction to cell phones and other technology make you feel there is an insurmountable chasm between you and either your own kids or those of your church or community. How about when you drive down the street and every guy walking on the street are grabbing themselves, and have their hands in their pants like Al Bundy.  I am pretty sure I am not the only one that want to tell them to pull their pants up and use a belt. The other option would be to pants them and maybe teach them a lesson, either way making it clear that it is not right or polite to publicly show their drawers. Stay strong. Stand up. Have a voice. – Shawn Johnson Click To Tweet When is the last time you witnessed a male under the age of say 25 or even 30 that still opens the door for women other than their mother or wife, or better yet even them.  Since when is it okay to sleep all day, live at their parent’s house until they are in their forties.  It has become a rare occurrence to hear “yes ma’am” or “no sir” to the point that we take notice of good manners when bad manners used to stand out and draw attention.

  When you hear the name ‘father’ or ‘papa’ or even ‘dad’ what kind of emotion does that stir inside you?  Many men in the world today do not have the feelings one would expect.  Rather than having happiness and fulfillment and attitudes of success men see that term as an empty label. There are many of us that feel like we were orphans and therefore the idea of a father inflames feelings of hurt. These orphans may have not been such in the true sense of the word, meaning that they had someone who called themselves ‘dad’ but were not there emotionally.  Many men grow up with no role model or father figure to call on.  These men develop resentment and anger that many are unaware of towards authority figures as they had none to look up to. There are men, such as myself that also are true orphans where they were given up either at birth or any time during their childhood where they were deserted by the people who were supposed to be there for them.  This abandonment can cause mixed feelings of hurt, confusion and anger that can sometimes last a lifetime.

Everyone knows that dogs are our best friends right.  How about dogs being some of the best mentors on Leadership Lessons as well. Here are a few ways that we can learn how to be a better leader from that same dog that licks themselves in public. Meet everyone at the door – dogs love to run to the door and get excited no matter who is at the door.  Hopefully your dog has manners and does not lose its mind when there is a knock at the door as mine does.  As leaders we need to meet people, don’t hide behind a desk all the time with a secretary or team member on guard.  Customer service is key component no matter what business or industry you are in. Lead From Behind – anyone that has a dog know that before they are going to get out in front of you well they have to check the rear.  Nothing says you are part of a pack than a nose up your butt nudging you along.  As a leader we need to push more and pull less, we cannot drag our team to success nearly as well as we can encourage them to succeed.