Sometimes we lead, and other times we follow. Even leaders sometimes must become followers as we don’t always know everything or have all the answers. So, we follow the wise council of our trusted advisors. And the journey to becoming a leader meant that there were those that went ahead of us whose footsteps we chose to follow in.

When I was a very young boy, my father died, leaving my mom with four children. My mom’s dad, my grandfather, stepped up and, along with my grandmother, played a huge role in raising me and my siblings. I looked up to him as he was such a man of integrity, so faithful, so loving, and one of the hardest-working people I would ever know. I wanted to walk in his footsteps.

When it came time for my wedding day, my grandfather had become fairly sick and as it turned out, he would be unable to make the wedding. I stayed at a hotel the night before my wedding, as I was not supposed to see my bride until she walked down the aisle. On the morning of my wedding, I went to work for a little while, just to help the hours pass. But then I decided since my grandfather couldn’t come to me, I would go to him.

I packed up my tuxedo and went to his house. We had lunch, and we talked, and he helped me make sure my tuxedo was on right and he pinned the flower to my lapel. What does this have to do with deciding whose footsteps we will choose to walk in? Well, there is a Bruce Springsteen song, “Walk Like a Man,” that reminds me whose footsteps I chose to follow in, and the first set of lyrics goes like this:

“I remember how rough your hand felt on mine

On my wedding day

And the tears cried on my shoulder

I couldn’t turn away

Well so much has happened to me

That I don’t understand

All I can think of is being five years old following behind you at the beach

Tracing your footprints in the sand

Trying to walk like a man”

To this day, every time I hear this song or think of my grandfather, I tear up with good happy and healthy tears. To this day I still want to follow in his footprints in the sands of life. It was like Bruce wrote this song just for me and my grandfather. In my life journey and my career journey, I have been blessed to have followed others in their footsteps, people who I knew I could learn from. People who I knew went through life’s hardships and corporate challenges and had successfully fought their way through both.

And we have to be careful too as we have all heard stories about someone who chose to follow another person who they thought was a good person to follow and maybe even idolize. Only to find out that they weren’t really who they made themselves out to be. It turned out that they were only about themselves and self-absorbed, unwilling to share any teachings with the people who looked up to them.

Even today I look for people that I would like to follow in their footsteps for certain things. There are so many men and women whom I admire and respect for the way they handle their approach to life. Sometimes they demonstrate behaviors that intuitively I know that I should be doing, or I already am doing them, they are just doing them differently. And age doesn’t matter, I look at some of the brightest and best in the business world and as much they are seeking my learned wisdom, I am seeking their new paradigm regarding how they look at the business world and also life in general.

Are there people in your life worthy of following in their steps? Even as a leader, are you vulnerable enough to still follow when it’s the right thing to do? I would love to hear your story at gotonorton@gmail.com, and when we can choose the right footsteps to follow in, it really will be a better than good life.

Michael Norton is an author, a personal and professional coach, consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator of individuals and businesses, working with organizations and associations across multiple industries.