Profiles In Leadership - Taking The Right Steps

INTRODUCTION: The Leadership Journey

I remember being thirteen, feeling frustrated and broken by what was happening around me. My father was absent, and my mother was searching for love in all the wrong places—and, unfortunately, she was finding it. Aside from my sports coaches, I had no other role models for leadership. For the first time in my life, my coach, Donnie “Daddy Mac” McPherson, recognized the leadership within me and ignited a flame I didn’t know existed, nor could I see in myself. After a hot summer football workout, Coach Mac pulled me aside because my life circumstances were manifesting as a negative attitude and behavior on the field, which showed as disrespect toward my teammates and coaches. Coach Mac was the first adult man I encountered who had an authentic way of speaking to the depths of my soul. He had a stern but loving approach that didn’t allow me to continue my behavior in his presence while still feeling loved. Coach Mac was the first man to ever say to me, “ Son, you are a leader. ” On that hot summer afternoon, Coach Mac spoke to me at length. While I can’t remember everything he said, I vividly recall hearing, for the first time in my life, those powerful, life-changing words: “You are a leader.” It hit me like a linebacker charging full speed to tackle a wide receiver trying to catch a first-down pass over the middle. Those words resonated more than any others had up to

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