Where I Come From
I’m not a die hard country music fan, but I will say that it’s grown on me over the years. We recently attended the Kenny Chesney “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem” concert here in Denver and it struck me that many of his songs had references to his hometown (Knoxville, TN) and other memories from growing up. With titles like “Back Where I Come From” and “Somebody Take Me Home”, the lyrics share his experiences and clearly bring back a sense of nostalgia. Kenny’s not alone in this practice. Many musicians write songs and sing about the towns, cities, and states where they are from - especially in country music where Alan Jackson and Montgomery Gentry both have songs titled; “Where I Come From”.
Where we grow up and our surroundings, significantly impacts who we are. It influences our beliefs, behaviors and opinions. The people, places and things that we were immersed in early in our lives shape how we approach relationships, work and life in general. When we reflect on our upbringing, we can better understand the root of why we act they way we do, both positively and negatively, in various situations. This understanding gives us the power to make desired changes in our lives.
Externally it also can be very powerful for us as leaders to understand where others come from. Not in the sense of trying to place someone into our own beliefs or experiences around certain areas, cities, states or even countries. It should be done with pure curiosity of trying to learn something new about someone else’s experiences. Leaders can build trust through this process and also broaden their understanding of their people and the world.
As I looked around our Tuesday morning meeting at Footers this week, I realized that two thirds of the people in the room were not from Colorado. They grew up in places like Chicago, Boston, Arizona, Georgia, Virginia, California and the Florida Keys. They come from ranches, big cities, suburbs, mountains and islands. Some grew up rich, some great up poor and some grew up somewhere in between. Even the people that did grow up here in Colorado have different parts that eventually brought them to our team. I feel very grateful that we have such a diverse set of places and circumstances that our team comes from. They all have stories - many of which I’ve been fortunate enough to learn about over time. I’m inspired today to learn more about those stories and take the conversations even deeper and I hope you’ll do the same with your fellow team members.