I love this story. I can’t remember where I first heard it, but it really stuck with me. I think its lesson is so applicable for leadership.

All hikers know that you can’t out run a bear. But these two guys were hiking in the deep woods one day. They got a bit off track and wandered into the part of the woods where bears have been known to live. ROAR! The frightening sound of a bear was heard. ROAR!! The sound grew closer. One of the guys bent down and started tightening his shoes. “What are you doing?” the other one asked. “Lacing up my shoes so I don’t trip when I run,” the first one answered. “Everyone knows you can’t out run a bear,” the second one said. To that the first guy replied, “I don’t have to out run the bear, I just have to out run you,” and he sped away.

Why do I love this story? Because so many people think they can’t be a leader until they know everything there is to know about leadership.

In the story about the bear, great leaders are the first guy who tightens up his shoes, and those that they can lead are the second guy. Knowledge about everything having to do with leadership is the bear. The message of this story is, you don’t have to know everything about leadership to be a great leader; you just have to know a little more than those you are leading.