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Thursday, March 3, 2011

Leadership Value #7: GRIT Factor

Here is where things get a bit tougher. 
Exemplary leaders -the kind of people you and I want to follow- are not shackled by their fear.  Remember, a truly great leader is taking people places...places that nobody has gone before. 
And this process always includes an element of (calculated) RISK.
"We have never done that before here" OR "Someone might not like that idea."  Are some of my most favorite phrases to hateChange always includes an element of uncertainty and a leader knows this.  

The deeper issue at hand is that the people who have the above mindset do not realize that the very issue(s) that they think always were done in the organization were at one time an element of change and risk in its time!  Whether it was 20 years ago (or 100 years ago), someone had to stand up and challenge the status quo and offer up a new idea. Which lead to a new way of thinking & acting. 

The problem today is that much of leadership is spent managing those "old" systems rather than going back to the drawing boards and coming up with creative solutions for continued growth. 


GRIT Factor:  A leader need grit. This is precisely what separates the average from the great.   You know you need it.  You may survive without it.  But you will not thrive.  The reason is because a leadership position WILL test you like no other.  Let's face it.  No one is going to throw a party when you try to change things up.  So your character will be tested.  You will have to dig way down.  And toughen up that skin of yours. 

Because with leadership comes challenge. 
And with challenge comes opposition. 
And with opposition comes headaches. 
And with headaches comes a visit to the Army Navy Store.

1 comment:

piano teacher said...

That is a really good point to bring into a conversation. The fact is that someone started the way we do things. It was a new idea at some point. That is something to remind the groups of people that I work with like the choirs and the VBS groups to keep in mind. Thanks for the challenge to take step out of the box sometimes and that can be good!