Trailblazer leaders

Every type of job today may be traced back to a pioneer leader. Someone who came up with a wonderful concept or spotted a need and met it. Those who forge ahead into unfamiliar areas pave the way for others to follow. The path was probably far from faultless, as with every innovation. I can imagine Edison's light bulb lab or the stench of burnt glass from his inability to ignite a bulb on the first try. He had remarkable success transporting electricity from one location to another, and others were inspired to experiment with this newfound energy, creating neon lights and low-pressure sodium lamps. Just like Heinrich Geissler and physicist Julius Plücke blazed the trail, softening it slightly with their discoveries. Similarly, you can be a trailblazer or a pioneer to an already established trail. It doesn't have to be flawless or the best, but every contribution comes with benefits that are well worth the effort.

Fortunately for us, our history is filled with daring and inquisitive unconventional trail explorers. People who spotted a trail and didn't care how hard or unpaved it was for them, took the steps and smoothed it mile by mile for others to follow. For example, Mrs. Ursula Burns is one of my favorite trailblazers. She became the first Black Female CEO of Xerox, a Fortune 500 corporation, in 2009. Her dedication and professionalism earned her a leadership position that just 6% of African-Americans had at the time[1]. I don't have data on how many of that 6% were females, but I'm confident I don't need to back up my claim that it was probably very few. Many people, including me, look up to her. Mrs. Burns discussed her emotions of insecurity during her career in an interview, and I must say her words are wisdom we could all follow, do not let self-doubt paralyze you.

"I live in self-doubt all of the time. I am not one of those people that believes that I am bulletproof... I live in my head. But I do not, generally, let it paralyze me"[4].

Engineer Martin Cooper with Motorola in 1973 was another trailblazer who forever changed our lives and the way we do things. Mr. Cooper transformed the telephone concept into the mobile phone. He did not invent the telephone, but he transformed it into another brilliant innovation. One that would be ready to use after a quick 10-hour charge ( Overnight charging was recommended, since you don't need the phone while sleeping) and would allow you to engage in as many conversations as you want from anyplace as long as the total speaking time was less than 30 minutes[2]. So it wasn't the most convenient solution, but he wasn't searching for convenience; he was looking for innovation, and his creativity awoke the imaginations of many others, leading them on a journey that finally led us to the technology we have today. In the following quote, he expresses how during his youth, his way of thinking was not appreciated. Imagine if he had actually believed that it was useless to experiment in order to convert your imagination into physical matter.

"When I was young, the concept of being a dreamer was a very negative one. If you were a dreamer, you were useless. You didn't contribute anything to society...We had no idea that in as little as 35 years more than half the people on Earth would have cellular telephones" [2].- Martin Cooper.

Let us now turn our attention to a more recent trailblazer. Gayle Skawennio Morse, Ph.D., who is a member of Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) Hau de no sau nee (People who Build, also known as Iroquois) in the North East of the Americas on the boundary between Canada and the New York area. This trailblazer pursued a career in psychology that just 1% of our Native people pursue. Dr. Morse would have grown up to be a skilled basket builder, according to his tribe's tradition. Instead, curiosity manifested itself in the form of questions, driving the need to seek answers. When the elders became weary of the questioning, they let Dr. Morse study books instead of braiding sweetgrass [3]. Dr. Morse is now featured in numerous research articles and continues to pave the road for other Native Americans and minorities to follow. It is acceptable to deviate from family expectations if your passion is elsewhere. It is critical to follow your calling in order to live a fulfilled life, even if it means deviating slightly from tradition. Dr. Morse was neither the first nor the last member of a Native American tribe to pursue a career as a Psychologist. He was the first in his family to step away from cultural and family expectations. An act of daring, and bravery for the right reasons is often rewarded with the support of people we need the most.

"I learned that caring for others, service and generosity are more than aspirational principles but are a part of Kanien'kehá:ka life and woven into the fabric of our being. As stated by Chief Oren Lyons (1977) our basic call is to maintain peace, help and protect people from abuse and to support the containment of hierarchy. A complex thought indeed" -Gayle Skawennio Morse, Ph.D

After learning more about what trailblazing entails and the benefits of becoming a pioneer in any industry, do you believe you are on the right path for greatness? Is there a service, product, or procedure that you believe you could make better in some way? If this is the case, I ask you to take a chance and learn more about how you can lead yourself and others to achieve professional success. You may start by understanding what is like to be a leader and the different approaches you can take. Click here to order a copy of "Not Your Average Leader" today!

References

1. Executives in the U.S.: Racial and ethnic diversity of Ceos 2018. Statista. (2022, January 11). Retrieved February 16, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1097600/racial-and-ethnic-diversity-of-ceos-in-the-united-states/#statisticContainer

2.Križanović, I. (2021, December 2). Cell phone history: From the first phone to today's smartphone wonders. VERSUS. Retrieved February 16, 2022, from https://versus.com/en/news/cell-phone-history

3. Morse, G. S. (2016, February). Reflections on being a public interest psychologist. In the Public Interest. http://www.apa.org/pi/about/newsletter/2016/02/reflections-psychologist

4. Reese, H. (2021, December 15). Ursula Burns reflects on being 'the first'. The Cut. Retrieved February 16, 2022, from https://www.thecut.com/2021/12/trailblazers-ursula-burns-on-being-the-first.html