Uncover the Gold
String Music: A Newsletter from Dr. Hunter Taylor
String Music
Uncover the Gold
What Is Leadership?
A friend recently asked me what I actually do when I teach.
It’s a fair question.
Yes, I introduce new ideas.
Yes, I share research.
But honestly...
I don’t think that’s the most important part of my job.
The longer I teach, the more I think my responsibility is to uncover the gold.
To pay close enough attention.
To ask better questions.
To notice something in someone before they fully see it themselves.
Then say it out loud.
Calling It Out
Once you notice the gold, you have another responsibility.
Affirm it.
Then create opportunities for that person to use it.
And eventually, something beautiful happens.
Other people begin to see it too.
Sometimes a peer notices it before I do.
Sometimes I simply reinforce what everyone else is beginning to recognize.
Either way, confidence grows.
Not because someone was flattered.
Because something true was named.
I’ve come to believe that’s one of the greatest gifts a leader can give another person.
Helping them recognize something that was already there.
At Home
I’ve realized this is how my wife and I are trying to parent too.
Our kids are constantly experimenting.
Playing.
Building.
Competing.
Creating.
We’re paying attention.
Not asking,
“What do we want them to become?”
But,
“What has God already placed inside them?”
What captures their imagination?
What comes naturally?
What gives them life?
Our job isn’t to manufacture that.
It’s to uncover it.
Call it out.
Then create opportunities for it to grow.
I hope their brothers learn to do the same for one another as well.
Everywhere
The more I think about it, the more I realize every meaningful relationship works this way.
Friendships.
Marriage.
Teams.
Businesses.
Schools.
And some of the people I am most grateful for are the people who saw something in me - and had the courage to say it.
Sometimes before I believed it myself.
That’s a gift.
And I want to become that kind of person for others.
Your Challenge
Think about someone close to you.
A child.
A teammate.
A friend.
A colleague.
What’s one strength you see in them that they may not fully see in themselves?
Tell them.
Not with vague encouragement.
With specificity.
Then create an opportunity for them to use it.
Sometimes leadership isn’t adding something new.
Sometimes it’s uncovering what’s already there.
The Final Reflection
Gold doesn’t become valuable the moment it’s discovered.
It was valuable all along.
The right leader simply uncovers it - and then helps someone see it.
And once they do...
...they’re rarely the same.
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