In leadership the when is as important as the who (free write)

Regardless of where you fall politically there is an important lesson to be learned from Mitt Romney's decision not to run for president a third time, especially for those of us seeking leadership positions in the near future. That lesson is, that when speaking of great leaders, "the when is just as important as the who". The current message coming from most Republican leaders is that Romney would have been a great president had he won in 2012, but that his time has passed. This message reinforces the concept that timing matters when speaking of leaders. This can be confusing to some and very hard to accept for others, after all none of us want to consider ourselves irrelevant. Personally I have faced this issues on several different occasions. There have been times when I wanted to step up and take the lead on the issue but I was not the best person to do so. However, what must be kept in mind is that just because it is not your time to lead in one area that does not mean you cannot lead in another.
As I continue to expand my work as a community leader I have come to realize that leadership comes in many different forms. Sometimes you are called to lead the charge other times you are meant to take a support role. Being able to identify this and not letting your ego get in the way will place you in a stronger leadership position when it comes time for you to step up and be the face of a movement.