Wonder Woman, Not.

Leadership is a funny thing. As someone who has been invited to lead, I am encountering the many challenges it presents. The challenge at the top of my list is people thinking that because of my role I am somehow Wonder Woman.

Wonder Woman I am not (though I wouldn’t mind having an invisible plane to travel around in).

I am here to attest to the fact that I am completely, utterly human. I make mistakes. I have inward struggles that only a handful of people know about. I sometimes procrastinate. I forget things. I have double or even triple booked. I am enough of a klutz that friends wonder when I will break my next bone. I worry. I imagine that I will fall flat on my face in the journey that is PNC.

I do not deserve to be put on any pedestal. And the truth is, I really don’t want to be on one.

My hope and prayer is that I will play a role in helping others to discover how integral THEY are in Parkdale. Some of my favourite times are when I’m standing in the corner of the drop-in, watching things unfold in the kitchen, listening to various conversations, and seeing people bustle around getting the room set-up. I smile to myself and think, “what an amazing team”.

Yes, there are tasks that are for me to do. And yes, there is responsibility on my shoulders. I will endeavour to do what is required of me, using strength that is not my own but of God. A whole host of people constantly remind me that even if I could be Wonder Woman, I don’t need to be. Instead, I am accepted as I am. What a relief.

I’ll be a servant leader instead, albeit a clumsy one.