The Halloween tradition of the Jack O’Lantern can be traced back hundreds of years to an Irish myth about a man named Stingy Jack. It’s an interesting tale of deception and payback. In the end, the story goes, God wouldn’t let Jack into heaven and the Devil wouldn’t let him into hell. Jack was sent on his way with just a single lit coal, which Jack placed inside a carved out turnip, to light his way. Without a leader and without direction, Jack wandered aimlessly forever.

As the leader of your team, you light the way for them. You provide the vision and the direction. Don’t let your team members be like the wandering “Jack of the lantern.” Help them find their way.

Lead.

A leader has the vision and conviction that a dream can be achieved. [The leader] inspires the power and energy to get it done. -Ralph Lauren

A leader must be able to set the direction, create a sense of shared purpose and guide behaviour. This requires developing your own clear vision of where you want to go, describing this future to others in simple language and providing meaningful guidance regarding how to move forward. -Barbara Morris

The task of the leader is to get people from where they are to where they have not been. -Henry Kissinger