The Country Song That Shows Us What Leadership Looks Like
A Powerful Reminder from Rodney Atkins’ “Watching You”
I’ve loved country music since the ’90s, and I just found out that Rodney Atkins re-recorded his #1 song “Watching You”—twenty years later, with the son he originally wrote the song about!
This song has always pulled at my heart… but hearing it now, with his son singing the chorus?
Wow!
Do you know the song?
In it, his little boy swears in the car. Rodney asks him, “Where’d you learn to talk like that?” And the boy responds:
“I’ve been watching you, Dad. Ain’t that cool?
I wanna be just like you
And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are
We got cowboy boots and camo pants
Yeah, we’re just alike, hey ain’t we, Dad
I wanna do everything you do
So I’ve been watching you.”
Later that night, Rodney tucked his son into bed—and here’s what his son did next:
“He crawled out of bed, and he got down on his knees
He closed his little eyes, folded his little hands
And spoke to God like he was talking to a friend (this line gets me every time!)
And I said, ‘Son, now where’d you learn to pray like that?’”
And once again, his son answers:
“I’ve been watching you, Dad. Ain’t that cool?
I’m your buckaroo, I wanna be like you
And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are
We like fixing things and holding Mama’s hand
Yeah, we’re just alike, hey ain’t we, Dad
I wanna do everything you do
So I’ve been watching you.”
Cue the goosebumps. And the tears.
It’s such a powerful reminder to parents, but also to all of us who play an active role in a child’s life.
They’re always watching.
I see it in the clients I coach—so many of their limiting beliefs and fears were passed down from generations before them.
The people around us—our kids, family, friends, and even strangers—are learning from how we live.
With our words. How we act. Our energy. The way we show up when no one’s “watching.”
The good… and the not-so-good.
Beliefs. Behaviors. Fears.
So much of it is passed down by what we do and how we treat ourselves—and others.
This song is a powerful reminder that we’re all leaders.
And someone is always watching and learning.
Kids don’t just learn from what we say.
They learn from what we do.
From how we show up.
From how we speak—to others and to ourselves.
If you’re kind to others, they’ll likely learn to be kind too.
If you’re kind to yourself, they’ll learn self-compassion.
If you beat yourself up? They’ll pick that up, too.
If you judge or criticize others for thinking or acting differently… that becomes their model of what’s “normal.”
It’s not about being perfect.
It’s about being aware that we’re leading by example—every single day.
The next generation is learning from us all the time—not just when we’re “teaching” them.
They’re learning from how we live.
That’s where the real lessons about life are being taught.
This is why I care so deeply about the work I do. Because how we treat ourselves doesn’t just impact us.
It shapes our families, our communities, and the next generation.
Let’s show them what kindness, compassion, and self-respect really look like.
Let’s give them an example worth following.
Let’s help them grow up kind, confident, and grounded in who they are.
