A Teachable Moment

I had the pleasure of spending a few minutes with my fraternity brothers this afternoon.  I found myself in an intense conversation regarding “leadership”.  A comment was made which made me think of my relationship to my brothers: “What have you done to groom, teach, and support new brothers to accept the mantle of leadership?”  This statement caused me to look within myself and tally my accomplishments and achievements over the past few years and conclude that I have not done much in the area of supporting my (younger) brothers as they navigate the waters of leadership.  It is not a simple as voting for a brother and hope that he will do a good job – rather it is a responsibility to support that brother and lend a hand during his term or tenure as a leader.  He may make mistakes or fall short of his goals, but his accomplishments and successes will be harder without the support and guidance of brothers who have already traveled the road that he is on.  Alumni brothers have a fundamental responsibility to train, teach and support our brothers as they step up and into positions of leadership.  I appreciate my brother for using the situation to impart some wisdom – it was a teachable moment.