I had the opportunity to watch the Inauguration Ceremony this morning. While there are a lot of things I could say about the experience, I want to focus on the entertainment. Lady Gaga and JLo were amazing. Amanda Gorman is literally breaking the internet right now with rave reviews. But today I was most inspired by Garth Brooks.
Garth, the outsider, who joked on Monday that he might be the only Republican at the event, said he would attend because the day was about "reaching across.” Unfortunately, “reaching across” made him a target on the right and the left this week. Some of the left didn’t greet his act with open arms, and some on the right found his act to be a betrayal. He ignored both and he did what he believed to be right.
To me, that is leadership. Today cost Garth Brooks revenue and it cost him some fans. It also gained him at least one…me.
It is worth a few minutes of your time to ask yourself as a leader if you are showing up just in the places where you are welcome and expected…or are you also showing up in the places you are not? When you show up in the places you are not expected, are you always greeted with open arms? Do you choose to go forward, regardless of the cost?
I hope we can all tear a page from Garth’s song book today and hum along. #leadership
