Because of Who You Are
I experienced 2 incidents this week that reinforced the notion that we are ever in the spotlight as leaders, whether we intended to be or not. Both of these I would have taken for granted but for being attuned to opportunities to wield the influence others grant me.
The first occurred as I was shaving. My son came in to the bathroom and immediately wanted to shave also. This in itself was not a surprise, as he does this from time to time, but then he asked me a good question, “Dad, why do you shave?”
“Because I have to,” I responded.
“Do I need to shave?” he asked.
“Well, not really,” I said. “Not yet.”
“Is it fun to shave?” he continued.
“Not really.” 
“Is it fun for you to shave?” I asked.
“No, not really,” he replied.
“Then why do you do it?”
“I guess because you do.”
I guess because you do. That won’t be the only thing he does just because I do it, and I am certain that whoever your followers are, there are things they are doing, or trying to do, for one simple reason: because the leader does it.
The next incident involved not one of my own children, but one of their teammates on the soccer team I coach. We saw him at the 4th of July parade in our town and greeted him. As he walked away, he moved quickly to his mom, and I overheard his raised voice telling her that he had seen “his coach,” a fact about which he was obviously animated.
I hadn’t done anything special or out of the ordinary. I was just “his coach.”
I was “just” shaving–something I do without thinking about it.
But someone else is thinking about it. Someone else is watching.
Live up to their eyes.
Good stuff Stosh. I still remember the first time another adult emulated my behavior. Realizing I had unconsciously influenced, for good or ill, someone else was one of the scariest moments of my life.