Today I stood up to a guy right in front of his boss. I challenged him, the former leader, to change his position and give up his position of power. He had fallen from that position though no fault of his own, yet, he didnt deserve the power that he desired.

Yep! I challenged a 5 year old today, right in front of his dad. Heres what happened:

Jason, this little boy who I challenged is at school first nearly every day. He takes his rightful position of line leader. This means that he is the first boy in his class to enter the school after the kids walk in a straight line in from the parking lot; where they say The Lords Prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.

Today, as in the last few days, my son Jeremy and I thought that he was going to be first but right before he got there, another boy landed the coveted position. Today, it was another boy, Cory. Every day, my son Jeremy takes the second spot and doesnt grumble.

Today, the first kid was Cory, and Jeremy was second. When Jason arrived, he plopped his backpack on the line right in front of Cory. I started chatting with his dad and his son got comfortable. Thats when I had a decision to make. Did I challenge the kid in front of his dad? Was it fair that he gets used to being the leader every single day even though he didnt deserve it today? I decided YES.. I was willing to challenge his position.

So I said to this future leader of America, you know Jason, youre going to have to get behind Jeremy today because you werent here first today. I turned to his dad and said, Yah, you know how important the line leader is in kindergarten! I then said to Jason, Jeremy wants to be the line leader every day, and you beat him every day and so you get to be it! Today its Corys turn since HE was first. At the very suggestion that he wasnt going to be in the first position, Jason tried to enroll his father at taking his position. He told him he WANTED to be the line leader PLEEEAASE!! His dad made him move and Cory moved back into first. Jason wasnt happy, but he obliged.

Okay, so maybe I stuck my nose in a place where it didnt belong. Maybe Im pushing competitiveness among the kids. But, perhaps its what gets my son MOVING in the morning. Its the GOAL that he wants to achieve. He WANTS to be line leader. He WANTS to get dressed because he might get to lead the line into the school that morning. So for us, its worth it to get rewarded for a job well done. Its my way of teaching Jeremy goal setting and how good it feels to accomplish what he achieved.

I liked it also how the parent accepted my challenge. He was fine with my correction and he supported me. Of course I was nice about it, but I keep hearing how parents arent doing what is right by their kids. So many of them dont WANT to interfere and so they dont. Could it be that they just dont want to take responsibility? As parents, we should be willing to be involved. After all, we are their role models.

Yes, I stuck my neck out for the kids. I didnt let the usual leader return to his position when he didnt deserve it. And I know that tomorrow, Jeremy WILL be the line leader, even if we have to get up 1/ 2 hour early!

How about in your life? Is there anyone in your company that doesnt deserve to be where they are? Are they still in a position that they shouldnt be? Have you been patient long enough?

Have you considered that it might be time to demote that person and to ask them to take a step backwards? Is there someone you need to encourage to go into counseling? Is there anyone whose drinking habits are running interference with their work? Do you think it may be time to realize that they are doing more harm than good to your company?

Managing people takes care, concern and a lot of planning. It takes dedication to knowing the strengths of the people you manage and knowing what they can handle and what they can not.

And when you approach the leader who isnt pulling his weight or needs a bit of encouraging to get with the program, make sure you are direct, sympathetic, and of course respectful.

Because who knows, YOU may be the next one who will be challenged to wake up and get going.