Leadership is not boring.
Some people think that leadership is all about predictability; doing what you know how to do well and repeating good results. While I admire consistency and dependability, doing what you know you do well again and again sounds pretty boring to me.
Leadership is meeting new challenges.
On one level, we ask leaders to meet greater and greater goals with fewer resources. We expect leaders to accomplish more each month and each quarter than they did before while dealing with tightening economic, legal, and interpersonal constraints.
On another level, leaders face the challenge of bringing out the best in the people around them. Leaders recognize that they are not able to meet their goals by themselves. The ability to motivate and inspire the people with whom they work is an essential quality of being a leader.
On a deeper, even more essential level, leaders are challenged to know and become their own best selves. The leaders who inspire me appreciate that recognizing and celebrating who they are opens new approaches for them to meet goals and bring out the best in others.
Leadership is gaining depth of understanding.
For years, I thought I was a good leader because I ignored my own feelings and got things done. I was able to persuade people to do things to accomplish goals, but I was asleep to myself.
Waking up to myself is the most significant challenge I have faced as a leader. It has taken, and still takes, greater time and effort than anything else I have ever done. It is still changing the way I understand leadership, and is giving me the opportunity to become the leader I have the potential to be.
What is your most significant challenge?
How will you meet the new challenges you face?
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