Leadership often comes with surprises. Sometimes they are inspiring. Often, they are confusing. And occasionally they are just downright weird.
One such moment happened to me shortly after I had started as the new youth minister at First Christian Church of Tarpon Springs. I had certain students and parents vying for my attention from day 1. There was one young lady in particular who was a freshman in high school, and she wanted an opportunity to “perform” in front of the youth group. Now, it would not take anyone too long to realize this girl was a little odd, but sweet nonetheless. Her mother was very vocal and insisted that her daughter be able to share her talents with the youth group and the greater world if allowed. When I asked what the talent was, I was informed that it was flags.
Yes, flags.
This young lady could twirl and dance with flags, set to music, of course. My first thought was this poor girl was going to be forever not cool when she revealed this talent to the unappreciative hearts of our high schoolers, but she and her mother were persistent. So, I suggested a demonstration before I would commit to anything. We agreed that the next Sunday after church, the demonstration would occur.
The next Sunday arrived. After the church services were done, this young lady, her mother, and another lady, whom I assumed was her flag coach, and I made our way into a room on campus with extra space and not a lot of passerby witnesses. The high school girl opened her long case and began to pull out her flags. Her mother placed the CD in the boombox and looked for the signal. Her daughter was ready, and the music began.
Mother stood proudly in the corner. The other lady clasped her hands together in front of her mouth as if she were nervously rooting for her prized student. Both women were focused intently on the ensuing routine. There was twirling, some spinning, and a little dancing. There were a few drops quickly scooped back up. Honestly, it wasn’t terrible. But I did have to be very careful not to laugh.
Before I knew it, the music had stopped, the routine was over, and there were no major injuries. The girl’s mother was grinning with pride. The other lady observing clapped wildly in approval. Then ran to hug the high school girl and embraced her with pride. It was as if the student had fully fulfilled the teacher. I congratulated the teenage girl. I asked her if the other lady was her coach. The young girl said no, she had just met that lady for the first time that day.
Apparently, the lady spotted the case full of flags and just followed us into the room. Then the stranger informed me that she also has the “gift of flags.” No sooner did the words leave her mouth than she began to dance around the room, without music, spinning, twirling, and endangering us all.
It was one of the strangest moments of my life, and yet the mother and her daughter seemed unfazed. I thought, perhaps I would have been unfazed had I had the “gift of flags.”
I told the girl she could do a flag routine as the teens were walking in the next Sunday. It was not great. But it also wasn’t awful. It made her happy, and it gave all of us something to talk about for years to come.
Sometimes leadership means making room for the weird stuff. In fact, sometimes it demands it. This month, we’ll be looking at flexibility, humanity, and humor as a remedy for the ever-dreaded micromanagement.
Not everything in leadership fits neatly into a program or a plan. Some of the most human moments come when you allow space for offbeat ideas, unexpected contributions, and the things that matter deeply to the person offering them.
When you make space for those things, you send a powerful personal message of trust and belonging to your team.
As much as leadership requires clarity and direction, it also requires flexibility, curiosity, and humor. It requires the willingness to let people try and to give them space to bring their whole selves.
Sometimes, your job as a leader is to set the agenda, drive the mission, and keep everyone on track. And sometimes, your job is simply to let the flag people use their gift.
Keep twirling,
Tom
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