Читать книгу People Follow People - Sam Cawthorn - Страница 29

My own first taste of leadership came when I became a kids' pastor in our church. I oversaw a couple of other people when we ran our kids' ministry and realised that I had to set an example for them too. Now I was the mentor. At the same time, I was asked to be the duty manager at Pizza Hut where I was working. I went on to run businesses and juggle everything that came with that role — looking after the finances, managing staff and stepping up to take decision-making responsibility. I was also overseeing people in my church. On top of all that, by then I was married and Kate and I had had our first child.

I was 23 and already on my leadership journey.

My first major leadership role came when I was working on a big theatre production. I had been asked to come along and do some dancing and singing in the show, but soon after rehearsals started the director bailed out after an argument with one of the other senior people in the crew. That meant the troupe of performers and stage crew were on their own, with no one to run the show. I was more than a little surprised when they voted for me to become the director, producer and choreographer.

There I was, at the ripe old age of 25, managing 30 people, most of whom were older than me, and running an entire theatre production. I was responsible for everything from negotiating with the venue to selling tickets and filling the concert hall, to overseeing the whole team. The production opened on cue and we had five sell-out performances.

At the start, shouldering that level of responsibility was overwhelming. Yet I was excited and really challenged by it too, and the fact that the project was a great success gave me the confidence to progress to other challenges.

Kate and I and our baby girl moved to Launceston, in the north of Tasmania. We went there mainly for my work, and also because I'd been given the opportunity to become second in charge in a church there, leading young people as a youth pastor. I was also working for Xerox selling photocopiers, though I have to say I wasn't too successful at that.

Then I got my job in job seeking — as a youth futurist.

At the time I was also teaching a number of adult education classes in singing and dancing. I had a strong singing and dancing career back in my twenties and I absolutely loved it. For a couple of years, I taught a 10-week course to classes of 20 to 30 people. It was great fun and offered a nice bit of extra cash on the side.

And that's when it happened. That almost fatal car crash would be a total life changer.