Have you ever noticed there are some people who elevate the status of others? I mean there are some people who I know that when you’re around them they help ignite the room and you in the process.

I worked in the A/V room while in college. We would handle the lights, sound, and recording of major events on campus. One event that really made the practice of elevating others really sink in was Margaret Thatcher’s speech during the American Studies series.

Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister if Great Britain during some of Britain’s most formative modern history making. She was known as the Iron Lady for her resolute and determined character. That character was on display the evening she would give her speech. A speech recounting the first Iraq war among other major topics.

But it wasn’t just a speech. It was the buildup to it. The clock ticked 7pm and over 4,000 people fell silent. Margaret Thatcher and her entourage entered the stage from behind the curtain. The entire room applauded and then sat on edge in mesmerized silence. You could have heard a pin drop and I was a nearly a football field up and away in the sound room.

Mrs. Thatcher was kindly introduced. With each measured step up to the podium, every single person in the auditorium knew she brought gravitas. She was about to deliver more than a speech. She would elevate the listeners to a higher level.

Boy did she deliver!

In my mind’s eye, I still vividly recall that for two solid hours an entire audience was informed on world affairs, the Iraq war, and the state of U.K. & U.S relations. Everyone who attended walked out that night better informed with a little pep in their step having just spent time with one of history’s great leaders. Margaret Thatcher was an N~leader.

N~leaders seek to elevate others. Leaders that seek to elevate have the potential of creating the rising tide that lifts all ships. Everyone benefits. There is no downside to seeking the good of others; unless they’re seeking evil which no one should help others do. Selfish people that only seek their own good often drag others down the process instead of lifting them up.

1 Corinthians 10:24 ►

Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor.

I don’t know that I will be a world leader like Margaret Thatcher. But, I sure know I can elevate others.