About a week ago a good friend of mine gave me a call and asked me if I'd like to come out to his farm and give him a hand with a problem he's been having and, of course I said yeah I'll help. He questioned me that I didn't even know what he wanted and I just laughed saying that I figured it involved guns and that I was always up to help him - although mending fences sucks. Anyway, he confirmed the problem, rabbits, and asked me to bring my shotgun and help him take care of some of them.

SaturdayRight at this moment I'm sitting in a cafe waiting for a fellow to arrive with whom I have a meeting; it's a long (and private) story but to summarise, the chap has post-traumatic stress and is one of the people my support group assists.

It is the false shame of fools to try to conceal wounds that have not healed.- Horace -Happy weekend folks, I hope you had a good week, but hope even more fervently that you have a really great weekend planned...or that happens by accident.

Lately I've been thinking a lot about my school days (which were not all that pleasant) and some of the experiences I had there, good and bad, and how they helped shape the younger version of myself into what I am today. It's those formative years that can set the tone for how one's life will unfold and while I had some terrible experiences I had some good ones as well...and they've all helps me move through life bit by bit.

I opened up a conversation with someone I've never spoken to previously with a mind to open a dialogue and hopefully give them a little direction considering the path they'd found themselves upon (by their own doing) leads to nowhere productive for them. It didn't go so well as the person seemed somewhat obstinate, defensive and self-righteous. It was at that point I called an end to it and moved on because I haven't got time to waste however I was left considering the many conversations I've had in person, on the phone, email, and of course here on Hive - which is where the above "conversation" took place.

There's good and bad in everyone, it's subjective and a matter of perspective but what people see, how they react to it, isn't always valid and some see bad where it doesn't exist due to disgruntlement and other such things; this is something most leaders will face at some stage whether it's professional manager or leader, sporting coach, school teacher and even family...anywhere a person leads, guides and directs others. It's not always the leader's fault that they're seen as bad although it's always the leader's responsibility to deal with the ramifications of that in the most productive and effective way.