Daryl Wood's Blog

I have fond memories of a well-known Canadian broadcaster named Gordon Sinclair who once said that he would rather be called opinionated than be known as someone with no opinion at all. I like that. Many times in life we hold back what we are thinking for the sake of being nice or easy to get along with. That doesn’t serve us or anybody else. We don’t have to be rude, judgemental or thoughtless. We can be sensitive, honest and clear. We can have an opinion on just about anything that matters to us and sometimes on things that don’t.

Leaders have opinions. They speak up. They decide. Leaders state their position and either stand by their beliefs with unwavering certainty or toss it into the fray to see what else will come from authentic discussion.

Having an opinion is important to me these days whether it is in sync with what is happening around me or not. I have a voice and a right to voice my opinion. We all do. I don’t always want to “go with the flow”. Sometimes I disagree. I’m not choosing to be difficult, just choosing to be real. And in doing so I give other people permission to be truthful. After all, the world would indeed be a dull place if we all agreed with each other. There would be no room to explore, explain, debate or to learn, to understand, to come to new edges.

And I love edges.