The above questions have been rolling around in my head non-stop for the last two weeks, ever since an image of wall graffiti with these same questions caught my attention. It moved me to my core. “Why is this so powerful?” I wondered, until the following day when I heard myself ask these same questions of one of my clients. And it led to a massive breakthrough moment of self-realization on her part. It was a call to action for her. It was the signal she needed to step into her leadership power, make a decision when no one else was willing to take charge, and activate on a necessary organizational change.
This quote, while borrowed in recent years by leaders like Ronald Reagan and Robert F. Kennedy (as well as Saturday Night Live), is most accurately attributed to Hillel the Elder, a Jewish leader, sage, and scholar who was active at the end of the first century BCE and the beginning of the first century CE. (He is also known for saying, “That which is hateful to you, do not do unto your fellow.”)
These questions are a call to encourage people to step up and take action, rather than wait for others to act – or for permission to charge ahead. And they are exactly what the majority of my coaching clients need to hear AND say to themselves right now. I am coaching people who, by title, are leaders. Yet, when individuals take the passive, powerless bystander approach, and all their leadership peers are doing the same, then…who’s actually leading?
Let’s revisit the quote: If not now, then when? If not you, then who?
Frequently these two questions are broken up and treated as independent thoughts, but to me, they are dependent on each other. You must be able to recognize that an action needs to be taken and be willing to step up and take responsibility to take that action. Because, let’s face it, a problem ignored doesn’t simply go away. Like leftovers in your fridge, they will only get worse over time.
What are you wrestling with right now? In what aspects of personal or professional life are you waiting for answers, direction, or leadership?
What or who are you waiting for – and why? Why not now? Why not you?
