Favorite Song From Their Picks: “Dream On”- Aerosmith
Just by their mannerisms, it is clear that my Dad and my Papa are very different in how they practice leadership.
My Papa prefers to be at the head of the table. Every year for Passover, he dresses up as Moses and commands the children to throw the ten plagues at Pharaoh. He has a quick smile, tanned skin, and crisp snow-white hair that flows off his head and hasn’t given an inch since he was 35. He is naturally charismatic, to say the least. He led hundreds of employees but was last to take credit. Like he always told me, Tim Duncan was a great “ball-player” because he gave props to his teammates.
My dad is a little bit different. He has a wide build, strong legs, and big, calloused hands. He is happy to let my mom speak at public occasions, but built up several businesses through the Great Recession and manages them all to this day. However the leadership that he takes the most seriously is that of my siblings and I. We were guided up with three rules: Be Happy, Be Kind, and Be a Good Person. He took, and still takes, all of them seriously. He was an awesome flag football coach for me and was always there for advice.
Each of their responses gave both great advice and a little insight into who they are as people. The main point I took away from Papa’s responses was that strength is in the people around you. When you guide and shape those people, you gain strength for yourself as well. Papa is a born leader, especially in public settings. He loves championing charitable causes. He also knows you need to lead by example. He mentions this in the interview, but doesn’t mention how he did: for the last 50 years, he has woken up at three in the morning, every morning and gotten to work. Even now that he is retired, he keeps the habit.
My Dad’s response hit very hard on character. Leadership is built on character, and strength comes from having good character. As he mentions, it also comes from having to make hard decisions. I remember very vividly when he first entered the deal he talked about during the interview. He was so excited he couldn’t stop talking about it. But, not everything that glitters in gold. To be able to recognize this, and lead himself and others away from the deal is a great feat of strength.
If there was one of the three qualities of strength that I thought I was proficient at already, it would be this one. I have always been one to lead, and I think it because I have had two great examples on what leadership is. I have been gifted the opportunity to be the oldest sibling. Because of this, I have gotten to lead my little brother and sister. Specifically Leo, my little brother, looks up to me, and I take great pride in trying to push them in the right direction. By doin this, I am becoming strong in a way that is other than physical.