Are you waiting for someone to give you permission to lead, grow, or move in your organization? What if you already have all the permission you need?<\/p>\n\n
I was recently invited to sit on a board and observed something there I\u2019ve seen countless times in other settings. Some people around the table had no trouble making themselves heard, while others seemed hesitant, withdrawn, even sheepish.<\/p>\n
It was as if the quiet people were waiting for someone to give them permission to speak. But the truth is that their presence on the board was all the permission they needed.<\/p>\n
The scene reminded me of a story Aesop told about a farmer who rented a donkey to take some produce to market. Along the way, a traveler joined the farmer and the donkey, and when they got tired the three stopped for a rest.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately there were no trees around so the traveler reclined in the donkey\u2019s shadow. The farmer protested that he\u2019d only rented the donkey, not the donkey\u2019s shadow.<\/p>\n
The traveler insisted that use of the donkey assumed use of the donkey\u2019s shadow too. It wasn\u2019t a perk, it was part of the deal.<\/p>\n\t\t