“If you are looking for perfect safety, you will do well to sit on a fence and watch the birds.”
Wilbur Wright’s words from 1901 weren’t just about flight—they were a blueprint for leadership.
Aspiring leaders often hesitate, waiting for the perfect moment, the flawless strategy, or the guarantee of success.
But leadership, like flight, demands risk.
You can’t master the winds by standing still.
Wright went on to say, “You must mount a machine and become acquainted with its tricks by actual trial.”
Leadership is no different.
Real growth happens in the turbulence of action, not the comfort of observation.
Every bold decision and every failed attempt is a lesson that no book or lecture can replicate.
When Wright addressed engineers who laughed at the idea of powered flight, he stood alone in his belief.
Leaders must do the same—stand firm in their vision when others scoff.
Two years later, the world changed because he dared to take the controls.
Aspiring leaders: get off the fence!
Stop waiting for guarantees!
Step into the arena of uncertainty because no one ever built a legacy by watching the birds.