Columns: Take The Helm

How do you know when you’re ready to lead?

By Bill Plessinger

I had been at my previous parks and rec position for more than a decade when I landed a great job in central Ohio for a Gold Medal-winning agency, with more responsibility and many more employees to lead. It was tough saying goodbye. The position and the people had been good to me. Before the move, I kept asking myself, “How do I know if I’m ready?” At the going-away party, my old boss put both hands on my shoulders, looked at me, and said just two words. “You’re ready.” That was his goodbye present. I still think about those words, 15 years later. We are both different people now—he is retired, and I have gone from a bachelor to a married man with a now-fourth grader.