A Leadership Lid Leaders Can Never Avoid

There is a huge leadership lid leaders can never avoid. 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 leadership lid leaders can never avoid:

Your ability to respond counterintuitively.

It will always determine the height of leadership you can sustain or achieve.

Here’s the reality. Leaders are human. There will be times a leader feels like responding one way, but can’t respond the way he or she may initially want to .

Leaders must lead under stress – even when the temptation is to quit. They must endure through criticism to do right things – even when it would be easier to cave to pressure.  And leaders have to rise above failure – even when they personally feel like one.

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 to 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, when doing His will, 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)

Consulting opportunities: Now that travel opportunities are opening again, I have some margin for in-person consulting, in addition to my online coaching opportunities. I have some unique places I can help, but my consulting is always tailored to your needs. Let me know if I can help.

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