4 Observations of Why Leadership Is So Hard
Leadership is not easy. In fact, it’s downright hard at times. But it’s not the easy times that require great leadership, it’s typically the difficult times that great leadership becomes crucial. The harder the situation is, the greater the need for leadership becomes.
Here are 4 observations of why leadership is so hard, and I will also include a remedy on how to get through it.
Observation #1
Leadership Sucks
That’s right leadership sucks. Not in the sense that it is miserable, but in the sense that it sucks the energy out of you. Leadership would be easy if there were no people to deal with, but then again, if people weren’t the issue then there would be no need for leadership. Leadership requires people, and it requires a desire to see people flourish. You can’t truly lead people if you don’t love people. But make no mistake, it will drain your energy and your stamina. The weight of responsibility is sometimes overwhelming.
Remedy: Make sure you have a very healthy personal/professional rhythm. What you do at the beginning of the day and the end of the day can make or break the middle of the day. Do things that will replenish your energy and fill your leadership tank back up. The only remedy to keep your energy up is to make sure you have healthy rest and playtime with your hobbies.
Observation #2
Leadership Is Relentless
The need for leadership never ends. It simply renews every day with a new set of challenges and issues. You can’t expect a moment of great leadership to last forever. Things change, people change, circumstances change, the market changes, etc… Leadership requires you to stay on your toes at all times without hesitation. This makes it difficult to stay on top of everything especially when issues start to pile up on top of each other without any break. You have to understand that leadership has no finish line.
Remedy: You must give yourself permission to be patient on the journey. Too many times leaders try to solve everything all at once rather than realizing not everything can be solved all at once. You have to embrace the journey and not be so focused on one event. Think progressively not momentarily. Leadership is an endurance game that only the patient win.
Observation #3
Leadership Gets Stale
If you keep doing the same things again and again you’ll eventually become outdated. The same tactics, the same words, the same routines eventually lose their influence. I see many leaders who are trying to navigate a new world with old techniques. If you aren’t learning new ways to lead you’ll eventually have no one to lead. This is why so many organizations are having a hard time leading millennials; they aren’t staying fresh on leadership trends. Sometimes you have to unlearn old habits in order to gain new influential ones.
Remedy: Be a learner. Read leadership books, read blogs (like this one, even when you don’t think you need it…you DO!) Hire a leadership coach who can help you process leadership and equip you with new ideas or trends that will help you lead better. Never stop doing what you can to get better. The moment you stop growing is the moment your leadership will start dying.
Observation #4
Leadership Grows
The paradox of leadership is, the more successful you are the more responsibility you get. This is great but can become so big that you’re trying to do too much. The better you are as a leader the more gets put on your plate. Many leaders stop trying to be so good simply because they’re scared of success. They feel that in order to take on more they’ll have to sacrifice the things they don’t want to. This tension causes leaders to curb their ambitions for fear of losing their humanity.
Remedy: Never stop growing your responsibility, rather grow your delegation ability. The higher you go as a leader the greater the need to be an amazing delegator. You can’t do it all, and great leaders know this. They don’t pretend to be superheroes, they just learn how to be more effective at delegating. Your leadership capacity is a direct result of your delegation strategy. Let me say that again…YOUR LEADERSHIP CAPACITY IS A DIRECT RESULT OF YOUR DELEGATION STRATEGY. You can only go as high as your willingness to let go. As my mentor Dr. John C. Maxwell always taught me; you have to give up in order to go up.
I hope these observations were helpful to your leadership success. Remember, I am here for you if you need someone to help you work through some of these remedies.
