There is a huge leadership lid I have witnessed firsthand. In fact, it’s one that has crippled my leadership in years past.
At some point, most leaders will face this one. It’s not insurmountable, but until you overcome it you will stall as a leader.
Every time.
Here’s the lid you can never avoid:
Your ability to respond counterintuitively—when needed—will determine the height of leadership you can sustain or achieve.
The leader is human. There will be times the leader feels like responding one way, but can’t respond the way he or she may initially want to. The leader must lead under stress—even when the temptation is to quit, endure through criticism—even when it would be easier to cave to pressure, and overcome failure—even when they feel like one—to continue to lead. Those aren’t always natural reactions, but it’s what separates a leader from everyone else.
We can make excuses all we want, but the one who claims to be the leader must:
• Keep standing when everyone else wants to “sit the next one out.”
• Continue dreaming when everyone else is satisfied with status quo.
• Remain steadfast to a vision when critics want to derail the course.
• Display strength during times of chaos.
• Choose to move forward when everyone else is retreating.
• Follow through when everyone else is stalling.
• Stay positive when everyone around is in a pity-party.
Regardless of how the leader feels personally or how they would prefer to respond, the leader must move forward if there is any hope of moving the team forward.
You hit your lid as a leader when you give up, give in or sell out.
Thankfully, leaders who are followers of Christ don’t have to find this strength on our own. And, His strength is perfect when ours is gone.
Where’s your current leadership lid? Do you need to raise it a bit higher?
I always tell our teams: We must get better if we hope to get bigger.
Stand strong! (1 Corinthians 15:58)
