Late-Lee, I’ve been thinking about turtles and leadership. I make numerous laps around our pond every day, and I’m amazed at the turtles who float weightlessly, watching me take my laps. I imagine them cheering me on! One day, a while back, I was driving home when traffic started slowing down for no clear reason. There wasn’t a wreck or construction, just brake lights. As I crept closer, I saw the hold-up. There in the road, a deputy had stepped out of his patrol car and was waving cars around as he gently scooped up a turtle from the middle of the road. That image stuck with me all day. A grown man in full uniform, in the middle of a hot Georgia highway, stopping traffic to protect a little turtle just trying to make its way across. And naturally, it got me thinking about leaders.

Not everybody we work with moves at the same speed. Some folks charge ahead like they’ve got somewhere to be yesterday. Others move a little slower, more deliberate, but still trying to get to the same place.

Sometimes they need somebody to notice them. Perhaps they need someone to be willing to step in and say, “Hold up, this one matters too.” That deputy didn’t stop traffic for applause. He wasn’t trying to teach the turtle to move faster. He just saw something worth protecting and took action.

What That Turtle Taught Me About Leadership:

• Good leaders watch the whole road. They don’t just focus on the ones moving fast. They notice who might be at risk of being left behind.
• They don’t force speed. They offer support, and sometimes that looks like slowing everyone else down.
• They don’t shame the turtle. They don’t say, “Why are you still in the road?” They say, “Let me help you get where you’re going.”
• They’re not too important to get their hands dirty or to stop traffic for something that matters.

Caring leaders provide support to the teacher who needs extra modeling, the student who hasn’t caught on yet, and to the colleague who’s been through something heavy and is doing their best to keep moving.

There’s always traffic, such as deadlines, mandates, and initiatives stacked on top of initiatives. If you’re the leader, your job isn’t just to keep the train moving; it’s to protect the people in it. 

That deputy didn’t make a big speech and tell the turtle what to do. He saw a need, and he met it. Sometimes leadership looks like stepping into the road for someone who doesn’t even know they’re in danger. 

So next time you see a person in need on your team or in your school, ask yourself: Will I blow by them? Or will I slow down and lead like that deputy? Because down here in the South, we see enough turtles to know that slow and steady may not make much noise, but it can get you where you need to go. Maybe the best leaders are the ones who slow down long enough to lift up somebody else so they can get there, too.