"Brown Noser...Me?"

The year was 1997. I had just started a new job selling electronics for this really cool company that had just opened a new store where I lived. I was very jazzed about being there and on this particular day I had just come around the corner to the back of the store where employees took breaks and came upon a a circle of fellow salesmen; all of us  were well groomed in our suits and ties...taking ten minutes off of the floor at the back of the store to smoke and reflect on the days numbers. One of the guys standing along side of me remarked that I was the newest brown nose in the group. We all chuckled slightly at this and I noticed some of my buddies start to shuffle about nervously as they waited for my response. After all, I was the new guy and this was said in fun but there was an underlying seriousness to this comment as well as a challenge.
So I looked around the group and finally right into the eyes of the guy that commented and said "you can call it what you want, but my first obligation is to my wife, my kids, my boss and then the job. I want to be successful first then if you want, I'll be your friend but I gotta do this first. I just don't stand around waiting for things to fall into my hands." We all chuckled and visited a bit more as everyone began to disperse little by little back into the store.
The funny thing about this little exchange was that as time went by, this group of people started to come to me with questions about selling and they also began to help me along my journey and as more time went by we all started achieving great things in the store together. We became known as the store with the "Tulsa Magic."
I didn't realize it at the time but this was to become a defining moment in my life. I began to realize that the face of leadership has many expressions. As I have experienced and as I look around now; I notice that other people gravitate to positive inner strength.
A truly good leader has a strong goal and a clear vision.
This leader can be standing at the front of the store with a label that says manager or he or she could be working at the back of the store along side the other employees. True leadership comes from within and when it's present, there isn't anything that can't be accomplished.