Be courageous!
I’ve always felt that people overlook the courage it takes to lead a group of people, in any capacity.
We appreciate and recognize it in military leaders, police and fire chiefs, and sometimes politicians, but we often overlook the courage it takes to lead people in the business. The leaders I have worked with that I truly admire, which is a pretty shortlist, all displayed courage in leadership. They knew when to make a gut decision, and when to gather more data. They knew when to involve a cross-functional team, and when to tackle a decision on their own. They knew when they had to adapt. Above all, these leaders displayed the courage of not being afraid to fail.
Now, more than ever, we as leaders must not be afraid to fail. We must not get caught in analysis-paralysis. Perfect decision-making data rarely exists in these challenging times, and the basis for making these decisions is changing fast enough to make our heads spin. Therefore, I challenge us all to have the courage to make decisions and pursue them with every ounce of vigor in our being. We will get through this challenge, like those that came before it. A new crop of leaders will emerge, often from unlikely places. Those leaders will have the courage to laugh in the face of failure, and try again, and again, and again. We must be willing to adapt to a rapidly changing world, to lead compassionately, with a constant eye on the greater good. We will fail, a lot; but we will succeed even more.
