Quote-A-Day: Day 51

#Leading is like eating a #taco #dip. You might not like all the layers, but together they're amazing. #QuoteADay #Day51 #edchat #edu

I love what I do.  I also love to eat.  So, it makes sense that somewhere along the line I would make a leadership connection to food.  Both hold very prominent spots in my life, and it is amazing how similar the two are.

When it comes to food, there are some tastes that just don't work for us.  I like vegetables in general, but not Brussels sprouts.  I enjoy macaroni salad, but not potato salad.  I would rather have ice cream cake than regular cake any day of the week.

What's so interesting about food is that we might love "the big picture" but not necessarily love the individual parts.  Take taco dip, for instance.  I've never been a huge fan of sour cream, but I'll be the first to admit that you can't make a stellar taco dip without it.  It's that simple.

The idea that you can find some layers not to your liking but still love the end result very much applies to leadership, learning, and life in general.

I love my profession and truly enjoy going to work each morning.  There are some aspects of the work that I do that I don't enjoy as much as others, and that's okay (heck, it's human nature. . . we always qualify the things we experience).  But, when I take a look at the whole amalgamation that is leading and learning, I couldn't be happier.

What's the big idea here?

Simply that we should expect to find fault in our professions and ourselves.  What is more important is that when we look at how everything stacks up,  regardless of whether we enjoy each of the layers individually, we feel good about the meal that is life.

Eat up!