5: Learning to Lead by Saying Yes

There is always great interest in leadership – What are key qualities? What makes a great leader? Can leadership be learned? This piece will not answer these questions because I don't believe leadership can be boiled down to a list of characteristics or steps. And even when it can, as in the ample literature on leadership, without context and story – what happened and how – the lists are not instructive. So, this piece is simply anecdotes, framed by some lived experiences, reflections about be(com)ing a leader. It's personal and idiosyncratic, but it is one illustration of leadership, one story from one woman.