Leaders who last aren’t afraid to start small. One of the loudest indicators of leadership immaturity is the idea that we can skip steps on this journey. The truth is, we must crawl before we can walk and walk before we can run. That may mean starting at the bottom of a corporation in the call center. Or starting with the long-term substitute role, or as the volunteer assistant. Or it may mean going back to the fundamentals of personal leadership in time management or organization (more on those in 2022). Study the path of any elite leader and we will surely see seasons in which they were mastering the basics. Working away in obscurity.

If you’ve been leading for any extensive time at all, you know the hardest person to lead - is you.

There is so much you want to do, but you don’t do. There is so much on your list, but you don’t get to it. You’ve been wanting to get up earlier, read more, write more, exercise more, whatever else ___ more.

There is an imbedded standard of success in your industry that is the established norm. If you are in business, in order to be successful you must drive profits. If you are in athletics, in order to be successful you must win games and championships. If you are in education, in order to be successful your students must achieve high test scores and move on to the next grade.

Whatever the industry, there is a defined and established result that “successful leaders” achieve. Most leaders agree with this standard. It’s assumed if you’re leading in athletics you want to win games. It’s assumed if you’re in business you want to increase profits.

It’s easy to get swept up in the flow. The to-do lists. The calendar full of events. The preparing and planning all year. The spreadsheets, the recruiting databases. It can be numbing if we’re not careful.

No one is suggesting we’re going to enjoy every single aspect of leading. Leadership is difficult. It gets even more difficult when we lose focus on the things that bring us joy and only fix our minds on the things that cause stress, anxiety, and frustration.

One personal trait required for all elite leaders is integrity. It’s the one thing that companies hire for and fire for a lack thereof.

Integrity can’t be bought. It won’t be downloaded with the latest operating system. You can’t borrow someone else’s. It’s carefully crafted through the long haul and can be forfeited in a moment’s notice.

There was a time when you weren’t the one in your chair. You didn’t always hold the title or position you have now. It’s possible to remember a time when you didn’t have the slightest clue what was expected for a role like the one you have now.

If you have been leading for a long period of time you likely have experienced the many ebbs and flows that come with the role. Some of the highest highs and some of the lowest lows. The joy of leading and influencing, coupled with the loneliness of being the decision maker, and the easy target for criticism.

It takes an emotionally resilient person to be a leader. We’re not robots, and we must show some vulnerability to lead, but the truth is the leader carries a burden of “holding it together” when the going gets tough.

It’s hard to find a strong, purposeful, leader who hides from their people.

I was driving the other day and stopped at a red-light. Beautiful weather so I had the windows down. At the intersection a group of construction workers were working hard on a project. A difficult project at that. The kind of work that will callous your hands and sweat your brow. They were in the midst of real struggle. Real work.

Have you ever had a co-worker who was so obviously obsessed with climbing the ladder and “playing the game"? When the boss walks in they sit up straight. They laugh at every important person’s jokes. They put on a show when around “important” people and then their true colors come out around the regulars. They are obsessed with gaining whatever advantage they can. Desperate for the climb, they unfortunately feel when they climb high enough they will be important too.