Fear doesn’t just keep people from failing.

Leadership Is Built in the Decisions Most People Avoid

There are a lot of leadership lessons hidden in simple sentences.

The ones that stick with me usually have one thing in common:

They remind us that growth requires action.

Fear doesn’t just keep people from failing.

It keeps them from trying.

Ambition without action doesn’t create success.

It creates frustration.

And the work we keep avoiding is often the exact work standing between where we are and where we want to be.

Leadership works the same way.

Great leaders eventually learn that not everyone will understand their decisions. People often see the decision you made without seeing the choices you had available.

That’s why leadership cannot become a popularity contest.

Listen to people.

Seek advice.

Challenge your own thinking.

But be careful about allowing every opinion to carry equal weight.

I especially like this principle:

Don’t take criticism from someone you wouldn’t take advice from.

That doesn’t mean ignoring feedback.

Good leaders actively look for feedback.

It means understanding the difference between useful feedback and unnecessary noise.

The same thing applies to focus.

You can accomplish almost anything.

You cannot accomplish everything.

Trying to chase every opportunity, solve every problem and satisfy every person usually results in doing a mediocre job at all three.

Pick the priorities that matter.

Do the uncomfortable work.

Make the decision.

Accept that some people won’t understand it.

Then move.

Ships may be safest sitting in the harbor, but that’s not why they were built.

Neither are leaders.

Leadership requires getting uncomfortable enough to grow, disciplined enough to focus and confident enough to move forward when everyone else is still discussing whether moving is a good idea.

Stop waiting for perfect conditions.

You probably already know what needs to be done.

The question is whether you’re willing to do it.

Need help?

I am not hard to find!