Making the decision to be a leader is the GREATEST GIFT you could ever give yourself in life, and who doesn’t like gifts? You have that chance right now as you read this. Leadership is the gift that opens up so many OPPORTUNITIES for you and those that depend on you. Leadership gives you the opportunity to own any fear, uncertainty and doubt, but more importantly it gives you the responsibility to remove it from others. I am hopeful that you seize this opportunity and start wrapping a gift with a pretty bow on it for yourself.
Leadership is inspiring and exhilarating, but it is also challenging. It’s not the same as management. Managing tasks is pretty straight forward – see the task, do the task, done. Leading people is not so easy. Why? Because there are 7.3 billion people in the world and no two are alike. As a leader, you have to develop skills to set a vision people can follow, develop relationships so people want to follow, and set goals so they know how to follow. But guess what? Leaders are made…stay tuned, we will talk about that later in another series! Also, people are really complex and have their own thoughts, beliefs, feelings and emotions. This human element is the part that can be magical about being a fearless leader. Just imagine walking into a room during a crisis, and everyone being calmer or feeling better because you are there. That’s being a fearless leader, and fearless leaders lean-in to their people’s thoughts, beliefs, feelings and emotions. And I can promise you this, these complex creatures known as your family, friends, colleagues and community members will provide you many opportunities to lead them in life as they share their fear, uncertainty and doubt.
As a fearless leader you will have fulfilling days, confusing days and down-right tough days, and the scary part can be that you don’t know which each day will bring. But that’s what makes true leaders special, they overcome the fear and make the; DAILY DECISION to lead. Every day you have the opportunity to unwrap a gift, accept the unknown challenge, and bask in the rewards. You have the daily decision to make the world a less fearful place, simply by accepting the mantel of leadership.
So maybe you have already chosen to be a leader in your personal and/or professional life, or maybe you are thinking about starting now. Being a leader is more about how you live, then who you lead. Being a leader is truly a JOURNEY and not a one-stop DESTINATION. Becoming a strong and fearless leader is a lifelong pursuit, and each day serves as a new lesson and teaching moment preparing us for greater and greater opportunities in life. As you are presented these opportunities, and we both know they are really challenges-in-disguise, no matter how tough it is, think of the strength you are building and how much more prepared you will be for the next even bigger opportunity. That is one of the blessings of fearless leadership, each challenge and opportunity makes us stronger for the next one, if we embrace it, if we lean-in and if we commit to be a truly fearless leader. Each of you have grown over the last three months during this pandemic. You have had to rise up and lead in your family, your community and at your company. This challenge has made you a stronger leader for your next opportunity. Embrace it. Lean in. Be a leader.
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