As I was pulling away from dropping off my 11-year-old daughter at camp yesterday, panic set in. “OMG am I really leaving my youngest child 4 HOURS from my home for 6 WHOLE DAYS?? What kind of parent am I??? What if she needs something? What if she gets scared? How will she possibly get along without me?!?” But instead of turning the car around, grabbing my baby, and saving the day, I noticed something….
The feelings I had yesterday are similar to feelings leaders often experience when delegating, trusting and challenging their team to do something new. “What if it’s too hard for them? What if they get scared? What if they fail?? OMG what kind of leader am I?? I better go help them immediately!”
So after wiping away a few tears, I realized that the same advice I would give to leaders is the advice I should follow myself. How will she get the chance to be on her own if she never gets to practice? How will she know she can be a problem solving, positive influence in the world if I do everything for her? How will she ever believe in herself if I don’t believe in her first?
So here I am today at my home office, 4 hours from my youngest kid, who is probably having the time of her life exploring the world, making new friends, and figuring it all out. And we’ll both be the better for the experience.
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