Personal Growth – Page 2 – Doug Dickerson on Leadership

Embrace The Discomfort of Leadership

Posted April 29, 2024
by admin

The more you practice embracing discomfort, the more confidence you’ll gain in your ability to accept new challenges. – Amy Morin

Many years ago while in junior high school, I played football. The drills in practice that the coaches put us through were designed to help get us in shape but, also to learn the right way to play the game.

During practice, one coach, in particular, often told us, “Boys, if you’re going to do it wrong, do it wrong to the best of your ability.” This was his way of letting us know that he expected our best at all times. We did our best and that particular year we won our league championship.

When it comes to life and leadership, we tend to be creatures of comfort. We adapt to certain routines, patterns, and ways of doing things. Some are good, some are not, but it’s what we know and do, and change doesn’t always come easy. When we are set in our ways, we tend to choose the path of least resistance over the discomfort of change.

In his book, Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things, bestselling author and psychologist, Adam Grant has some fascinating insights about being creatures of discomfort. He argues that “the best way to accelerate growth is to embrace, seek, and amplify discomfort.” And in leadership, this is where we often fall short. We try everything we can to run from discomfort. And when we do, we are depriving ourselves of greater learning opportunities.

Grant identifies three forms of courage to embrace. Allow me to share these with you and how they apply to you as a leader.

The first form of courage: Being brave enough to embrace discomfort and throw your learning style out the window.

Grant states, “The way you like to learn is what makes you comfortable, but it isn’t necessarily how you learn best. Sometimes you even learn better in the mode that makes you the most uncomfortable, because you have to work harder at it.”

Embracing the discomfort of a new learning style can be challenging. We would just as soon stick with what we know and do, even if it’s not as effective. Why? We are comfortable.

Leadership Application: When you are unwilling to embrace being uncomfortable and learn new things, you run the risk of being comfortable and stagnant. You might be surprised to learn that the leaders ahead of you are very uncomfortable at times.

The second form of courage: Being brave enough to use your knowledge as you acquire it.

Grant states, “You can’t become truly comfortable with a skill until you’ve practiced it enough to master it. But practicing it before you master it is uncomfortable, so you often avoid it.”

If you start today and embrace the discomfort and mistakes along the way, you will make progress. But if you wait until you are “ready” there will be little progress.

Leadership Application: Don’t wait to step up and lead when you think you’re “ready”. Embrace the discomfort of using new skills and knowledge to make an impact now. If you wait until the discomfort of being “ready” passes, you may never have the opportunity again.

The third form of courage: Not just embracing and seeking discomfort, but amplifying it by being brave enough to make more mistakes.

Grant shares insights into how we learn new languages and why kids tend to absorb foreign languages faster than adults. He states, “They’re largely immune to the fear of embarrassment and the discomfort of making mistakes. They’re not scared of feeling stupid or being judged.” And this is the secret to living with the discomfort – being brave enough to embrace more mistakes.

Leadership Application: In leadership, we tend to do the opposite. We want to avoid making mistakes at all costs. We are afraid of being judged or ridiculed. But the more we embrace mistakes, the closer we are to arriving at new levels of leadership that our comfort zones deny us.

Are you ready to embrace the discomfort of leadership?

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Lessons From The Fog

Posted April 17, 2024
by admin

You cannot lead others until you first lead yourself. You can lead yourself at your best only if you invest in yourself first. – John Maxwell

A few months back I was on my way to do a photoshoot. This particular one was a beach location which I always enjoy.

On this day, however, a fog had set in. What made it somewhat unusual was that a dense fog of that magnitude would likely occur in the early morning. However, this was a mid-afternoon shoot which caught me off guard.

Visibility on the beach was significantly diminished but the sunlight that peeked in through the clouds made for some fascinating shots. I was mesmerized by the beauty of the beach that day. The combination of the fog and piercing light gave me a new and much different perspective than I had ever experienced. It was truly memorable.

My approach that day to the photoshoot could have been one defined by frustrations over elements beyond my control. In photography, that is a common occurrence. One second you are ready for a shot and 30 seconds later the lighting changes or some other issue happens that momentarily alters your ability to take the photograph.

In photography, you can wait it out and make the necessary adjustments. I easily could have allowed the fog to cause me to throw in the towel and cancel the appointment, instead, I seized the opportunity to take some amazing photographs that I otherwise would not have been able to capture.

Life works this way too. Seldom does everything go according to plan all the time. Life happens. And when it does, you can either adjust and make the best of it, or you can be overcome by it.

There will be seasons when you find yourself in a fog as a leader. Call it a funk. Call it what you will, but you know what I’m talking about. You may be reading this now and saying “That’s me!”.

I must confess that I have been in a fog for several months. One of my strengths as a leader over the past few decades has been as a writer. Whether on my website’s blog, in my books, or contributing to magazines and other business publications, writing has been my go-to medium for communicating in the thought leadership space.

To that end, writing has always been a natural talent for me. Words have always flowed freely and any complaints from editors have centered around too many words, not too few. But for the past few months, I have found myself in a fog where my struggle was not figuring out what to do about too many words, but what to do about none.

If you are in a fog right now let me share a few lessons I’ve learned.

Don’t panic

From a meteorological perspective, fog occurs when the cool air mixes with the warm air over the water, the moist air cools until its humidity reaches 100%, and fog forms. In other words, it’s a natural weather phenomenon.

In leadership, it’s not uncommon to find yourself in a fog. It happens. But when it does, that’s not the time to panic, it’s a time to see your surroundings from a different perspective and draw on your leadership instincts to get through it. Trust the process. The fog won’t last forever, but it will give you time to learn new things about your surroundings and yourself.

Learn from it

Before the photoshoot, I was confident about my camera setting. I had done this before. But the fog changed everything. When you find yourself in a fog, you will draw from a different or seldom-used skill set to navigate your way. Embrace it and refine it.

From a leadership perspective, we don’t like being in a fog. We tend to panic and feel like things are slipping away from us. But it’s the time you spend in the fog that you learn a lot about yourself and what you are capable of. Don’t despise the fog, learn from it and be a better leader for it.

Be patient

Here’s what I know – the fog doesn’t last forever. And while we don’t like being in one, the lesson here is simple – be patient. The fog will lift. You will come through it.

The Roman poet Horace said, “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.” And this is the end game of emerging from the fog, to elicit talents and skills you haven’t used in a while. This will make you a better person and a better leader.

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Are You Locked In By Your Own Thinking?

Posted March 18, 2024
by admin

The principle mark of genius is not perfection but originality, the opening of new frontiers. – Arthur Koestler

In his book Houdini, author Harold Kellock shares a story about Houdini on one of his European tours when Houdini found himself locked in his own thinking.

After he had been searched and manacled in a Scottish town jail, the turnkey shut him in a cell and walked away. Houdini quickly freed himself from his shackles and then tackled the cell lock. But despite all his efforts, the lock would not open. Finally, ever more desperate but completely exhausted, he leaned against the door- and it swung open so unexpectedly that he nearly fell headlong into the corridor. The turnkey had not locked it.

Houdini was not locked in a cell by a key but by a belief.

Your belief systems directly influence every part of your life. The larger question is: what does your belief system look like? Let’s explore a few ways this happens in your life.

Wrong beliefs and assumptions lead to wrong actions

Houdini assumed the door was locked. Because his assumption was wrong, his actions were wrong. Wrong assumptions caused him to waste a lot of time and energy trying to accomplish something that was not even necessary. It will do the same for you.

Decisions you make as a leader must be grounded in facts and reality. The worst thing you can do as a leader is to make decisions based on bad information. Click To Tweet When this happens, you waste valuable time. Your people lose confidence in your leadership.

Wrong actions lead to wrong conclusions

Because Houdini believed the door was locked, he worked tirelessly to open it. Imagine his reaction when he leaned on the door and it opened, realizing that he had been needlessly working to solve a problem that did not exist. I can only imagine his frustration when the cell door opened that was not even locked.

When your thinking is wrong then wrong actions will follow. This leads you and your team to make faulty conclusions. This only compounds already strained morale.

Understand the power of right-thinking leadership

You do not want to be locked in by negative thinking as a leader. Right-thinking leaders seek solutions, explore options, empower their team, and share the credit. Right-thinking leaders have a mindset shift that’s not fixed but one that is growing, expanding, and overcoming its challenges because they refuse to be trapped by limited belief systems.

Your growth as a leader is determined by the choices you make. Don’t allow yourself to be trapped by beliefs that hold you back and limit your leadership capacity. Embrace right-thinking leadership with a passion to grow and your possibilities will be unlimited.

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Your Life In Leadership

Posted February 29, 2024
by admin

Life is too short to be little. – Benjamin Disraeli

The late Fred Rogers, at his induction into the Television Hall of Fame, gave a speech that I believe typifies what leadership is all about. Rogers said, “Fame is a four-letter word: like tape or zoom or face or pain or love, what ultimately matters is what we do with it”. And he’s right.

Rogers’s perspective on what is important may seem like a throwback in time, but the message is timeless. Rogers added, “Who in your life has been a servant to you? Who has helped you love the good that grows within you? No matter who they are, whether here or in imagine how pleased those people must be to know that you thought of them right now”.

Italo Magni said, “If you’re talking with your head, you’re going to speak to their heads. If you’re talking with your heart, you’re going to reach their hearts. If you talk with your life, you’re going to reach their lives”. So here is the question: On which level do you, as a leader, want to lead?

Here are a few observations from that quote that I believe are worth taking into consideration for your leadership.

When you lead with your head, you can help.

There is certainly an advantage to leading from a position of knowledge. We need smart and wise leaders. It lends credibility to your leadership to be knowledgeable in your field. But leading with your head can only take you so far in leadership.

Howard Hendricks said, “You can impress people at a distance, but you can impact them only up close.” You can draw a person in with your knowledge, but if you want to keep them there and make a difference, there has to be more to it.

When you lead with your heart, you can make a difference

When you lead on this level, you have taken a major step in expanding your influence as a leader. When you lead with your head you earn respect because of what you know. When you lead with your heart, you earn respect because of who you are. Click To TweetAnd that is the difference maker.

Malcolm Forbes said, “At the heart of any good business is a chief executive with one”. Leading from the heart provides the emotional intelligence that you need to integrate head knowledge into a plan of action that can easily be embraced. Until you connect with the heart you will never get to the life-changing encounters that come from leading with your heart.

When you lead with your life, you can change the world

Leading with your life is the most powerful form of leadership. This level of leadership embodies all that you know and all of your passions and unites them into a life committed to adding value to others.

Final Thoughts

Fred Rogers also said, “If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet, how important you can be to the people you may never dream of. This is something of yourself that you leave in every meeting with another person.”

Stop and consider the relationships you have and how your influence is making a difference. When you lead with your life, your influence has no limits. What will be the measure of your leadership?

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Three Questions for Problem Solving

Posted February 13, 2024February 13, 2024
by admin

The reward for being a good problem solver is to be heaped with more and more difficult problems to solve. – Buckminster Fuller

In Reader’s Digest a few years back, Captain Alan Bean wrote about his Apollo 12 mission. Bean stated, “Test pilots have a litmus test for evaluating problems. When something goes wrong, they ask, “Is this thing still flying?” If the answer is yes, then there’s no immediate danger, no need to overreact.”

When Apollo 12 took off, the spacecraft was hit by lightning. The entire console began to glow with orange and red trouble lights. There was the temptation to do something, but the pilots asked themselves, Is this thing still flying in the right direction? The answer was yes; it was headed to the moon. They let the lights glow as they addressed the individual problems and watched orange and red lights blink out, one by one.

That’s something to think about in any pressure situation. If you’re still flying, think first, and then act.

The questions the test pilots ask will serve you well as a leader, The questions are tactical, and with the guidance of a steady leader, they will be an asset to your organization. When things go wrong, and they will, here are three questions to ask before taking action.

Is this thing still flying?

Leadership assessment: Evaluation.

Bean observed that the temptation is to “do something!” Human nature dictates that when something bad happens we are to respond. But at times, our response is disproportionate to the size of the problem. In our knee-jerk reactions, we overreact.

Artist Maya Lin said, “To fly we have to face resistance.” What perceptive leaders understand is that not all resistance is negative. While some may think the obstacles they face will ground them, a smart leader sees obstacles as the very thing that will give them lift.

When you accurately answer the question “Is this thing still flying?” setting the right course becomes easier.

Is this thing still flying in the right direction?

Leadership assessment: Observation.

This is critical to the success of your organization. If you are not on the right course, it doesn’t matter how fast you fly. You’ll get to the wrong destination quicker and the corrections will take longer.

Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “The great thing in this world is not so much where you stand, as in what direction you are moving.” The test of your leadership and that of your organization is not whether you can face times of adversity, but whether you can honestly and accurately evaluate where you are and where you are headed.

Once you and your team have carefully evaluated your direction – making sure that you are on target with your values and vision, then when you are faced with adversities, you can properly address them.

Is the right leadership in place?

Leadership assessment: Competence

Not all test pilots become astronauts. While their skills and abilities are admirable, not all have the right stuff. When it comes to the astronaut corps, only the best are chosen.

While it is a delicate question to ask, it is a legitimate one that needs an answer. It could be that the leader who brought the organization to where it is, may not be the one to take into the future. Better to have the right leader in times of adversity than the wrong leader in times of prosperity. Click To Tweet
How you evaluate problems as a leader will determine your success as a leader. Evaluate properly, observe wisely, and be sure that the right leader is at the helm.

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Are You a Leader That Lifts?

Posted January 23, 2024January 23, 2024
by admin

A race, like an individual, lifts itself up by lifting others up. – Booker T. Washington

Chances are you have never heard of Cooper Erickson and Ethan Olds. And you wouldn’t be alone. Cooper and Ethan gained notoriety back in September of 2023 when competing in a track meet.

Cooper, a sophomore at Stevens Point Area High School in Wisconsin was on his way to a third-place finish in the race when he saw the runner in front of him stumble and fall. Instead of running past him to cross the finish line in second place, Cooper ran back and helped the runner, a competitor from another school.

Ethan Olds, a classmate of Cooper was coming up behind Ethan in fourth place. When he saw his teammate stopping to help, he also ran back to help.

When asked about what he did, Cooper said, “When you start to take running very seriously, you build a community, and that community is so wide– it’s just whoever you race, you have respect for because they are giving it their all. And I thought that was more important than necessarily finishing in second place or third place.” (Read the story here)

What the two high school students did at that event serves as a great lesson in leadership. While the boys were only in high school, some might have given them a pass if they had not stopped to help their fellow competitors – they are high school students after all.

The example of Ethan and Cooper is one worth emulating. As John Maxwell said, “Leaders who fail to lift others in the long run, fail to lift themselves.” And this goes to the heart of your leadership. Why is lifting others essential to your leadership? Let’s explore these three ways.

Leaders who lift have set aside their insecurities

This is perhaps one of the most common causes as to why some leaders don’t lift others. So long as you are insecure you will always be looking upon others with a suspicious eye. This posture puts a lid on your leadership, and what’s worse is that by doing so, you hold others back and keep them from reaching their potential.

Leadership Tip: Don’t allow your insecurities and pettiness to hold others back. The people around you need your best, not your baggage.

Leaders who lift give hope

Something special happens when a leader lifts another person. A shift happens that creates a new level of momentum and energy. Perhaps that person has been stuck, feeling despondent, and believes that the struggle is not worth it. Your one selfless act of leadership can be all it takes to turn things around and give hope to that aspiring leader.

Leadership Tip: Daily look for opportunities to be a leader that lifts. Who needs your hand today?

Leaders who lift build the future

When you lift others, you are helping build the next generation of leaders. In the end, it’s not about what you did for yourself, but what did you for someone else. Did you lift, build, encourage, and inspire those around you? A simple act of kindness on your part by lifting someone else is laying the foundation for another’s rise in leadership.

Leadership Tip: Being a leader that lifts is a recognition that we are all in this together. Lift others, be humble, and remember that it’s OK to turn around in your race and pick someone up.

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It’s A Matter of Focus

Posted January 12, 2024January 12, 2024
by admin

Where focus goes, energy flows. – Tony Robbins

On more than one occasion over the years, I’ve come away disappointed with what would have been a great photograph that I ruined by one major mistake. It was out of focus. Ugh!

You would think that after a lifetime of taking pictures and being an avid photographer, I would know better. It’s not like the concept is new to me. After all, I’ve won awards for my photographs and have taught classes for others to better improve their photography skills.

But focusing issues is a common mistake in photography whether you’re an amateur or professional if you’re not careful. The primary reasons are that the camera moved, the subject moved and you didn’t adjust in time, and missed focus among other things.

In leadership, we often hear that we need to see the big picture – and we do. It’s important to understand where you are, know where you are going, and set proper goals to get there.

The broader the picture, however, the harder it is to narrow your focus on the things in your leadership that matter most. In photography, you might appreciate the big picture from an artistic point of view, but finer details and focal points can go unnoticed and underappreciated.

In your leadership, what you focus on matters. As Tony Robbins said, It’s where your energy flows. How can you get your leadership in focus and activate your energy? Here are a few tips.

Focus on daily growth

Focusing on the daily disciplines each day that advance you toward your goals. It’s normal to want to rush the process and overnight be at a level of success that took others years to attain. But that’s not how they achieved it and chances are, neither will you. Don’t despise the importance of daily growth.

Focus on serving others

An essential characteristic of your leadership is found in serving others. Someone once said, “If serving is beneath you then leading is beyond you,” and this is one of the most essential characteristics of leadership to learn. Understanding that it’s not about you will remove the focus from yourself and where it belongs – serving the needs of others.

Focus on adding value to others

Similar in nature to serving others, adding value is a key component of your leadership. Zig Ziglar said, “You can have everything in life you want if you will just help other people get what they want.” Adding value to others allows you to put into practice the discipline of serving others tangibly. By doing so, you are showing yourself to be a selfless leader that’s worthy of following.

Focus on your priorities

As a leader, you have to know the difference between what’s important and what’s important to you. Many leaders lose their focus when it comes to priorities because they get sucked into the “tyranny of the urgent” that others create. Learning how to stay in your lane and focus on your priorities is a matter of good self-leadership. There’s a difference between adding value to others and adding to the drama. Understand the difference and stick to your priorities. Click To Tweet

Focus on consistency

John Maxwell said, “Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements gained slowly over time.” And this is the secret sauce of focus. When you focus on being consistent with your growth and daily disciplines, you will rise in your leadership.

Final Thought

Famed photographer Ansel Adams said, “A good photograph is knowing where to stand,” and it’s true in your leadership. Where you stand matters. And once you know where you stand, everything comes into focus.

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Not More Life As Usual

Posted January 1, 2024January 1, 2024
by admin

Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start. – Nido Qubein

Some years back, I read an account of the U.S. standard railroad gauge (distance between rails) and how it came to be set at 4 ft., 8 and one-half inches.

Why was it set at such an odd number? The reason? Because that’s the way they built them in England, and American railroads were built by British expatriates.

But why did the English adopt that particular gauge? Because the people who built the pre-railroad tramways used that gauge.

They in turn were locked into that guage because the people who built tramways used the same standards and tools they had used for building wagons, which were set on gauge of 4 feet, 8 and one-half inches.

Why were the wagons built to that scale? Because with any other size, the wheels did not match the old wheel ruts on the road.

So who built the old rutted roads? The first long-distance highways in Europe were built by Imperial Rome for the benefit of their legions. The roads have been in use ever since. Roman war chariots first made the ruts. Four feet, eight-and-one-half inches was the width a chariot needed to be to accommodate the rear ends of two war horses.

The account of the railroad system is emblematic of the way many people go about accepting and living their lives.

Many people find themselves living their lives according to the “standard gauge” that others have placed upon them. Breaking free from this entrapment of low expectations is nothing more than a pipe dream filled with “one of these days” thinking that slowly turns into faded memories of what could have been.

As you read this, reflect briefly on why you do what you do. Think of the patterns and routines in your life. Are you in the driver’s seat as it pertains to your goals, dreams, and aspirations? What gets you up early in the morning and keeps you up late at night? What are you pursuing in life that you are passionate about? And, are you moving in the direction of those passions?

I know that “standard gauge” thinking – accepting things because “it’s always been this way”- is the greatest obstacle standing in the way of where your heart, passion, and talents could otherwise take you. It’s what kills your dreams and causes you to:

Embrace the status quo
Believe that success is out of your reach
Believe that you are trapped where you are
Believe that others are more deserving of success than you

Zig Ziglar said, “If you don’t see yourself as a winner, then you cannot perform as a winner.” And this is my challenge for you:

Don’t allow the “standard gauge” of others to define who God has created you to be and to become.
Don’t allow your negative self-talk to defeat you
Don’t be afraid to take risks, fail, and try again!

My prayer for you in 2024 is that you will:

Deepen your perspective of who you are and why you were created (your spiritual life which grounds you)
Align yourself with like-minded people who share your values (this is your tribe who you share life with)

Welcome to 2024! May it be your best yet!

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Don’t Give Up On Your Dreams

Posted December 13, 2023
by admin

The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it. – Henry David Thoreau

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, so says the song. Speaking of Christmas songs, which one is your favorite?

Not long ago, I came across an article in Readers Digest that gave the backstories of some of the most popular Christmas songs. As a fan of backstories, it caught my attention. I’d like to share one of them with you.

The year was 1944, and songwriter Hugh Martin was fooling around with a little medley, but it wasn’t working. “So he played with it for two or three days and then threw it in the wastebasket,” his songwriting partner Blaine told NPR in 1989. Blaine made him get it out of the trash. And it’s a good thing, the song ended up being “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

Martin was writing the song for the film Meet Me In St. Louis. Supposedly, the song was a bit too melancholy for Judy Garland’s character in the movie, so Martin and Blaine rewrote the lyrics to be cheerier. “The film producers said, ‘It’s a sad scene, but we want a sort of upbeat song, which will make it even sadder if she’s smiling through her tears,” Martin said. “Then we wrote the one you know in the movie.” The song was a hit and has since been remade by many artists.

When reading a backstory like that one, I can’t help but wonder how many other Hugh Martins are out there – those who have – for whatever reason, have tossed their dream in the proverbial wastebasket. How many have chosen to give up in the face of opposition? How many have succumbed to discouragement to the point of giving up?

It was Thomas Edison who said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Truer words have never been spoken.

But did you also know that Edison faced tragedy of epic proportions when his lab was destroyed by fire? In the aftermath of that fire, Edison said, “Thank goodness all of our mistakes are burned up. Now we can start fresh again.” And this is the posture of a man who would not be held back.

As you spend time reflecting during this Christmas season and as the year comes to a close, I want to challenge you to think about your blessings rather than your troubles. Try meditating on the good that’s come your way and the good you can do.It’s all too easy to see the bad taking place in the world, but what you dwell on is a choice and that choice shapes your point of view. Click To Tweet

Let me close by reminding you of the lyrics of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”:

Have yourself a merry little Christmas

Let your heart be light

Next year all our troubles will be out of sight

Have yourself a merry little Christmas

Make the Yuletide gay

Next year all our troubles will be miles away

Once again, as in olden days

Happy golden days of yore

Faithful friends who are dear to us

Will be near to us once more

Someday soon we all will be together

If the fates allow

Until then, we’ll have to muddle through somehow

So have yourself a merry little Christmas now

I encourage you to discover the hope of the season, and the dreams in your heart, and to know that nothing is out of your reach so long as you have faith.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

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The Problem With Good Intentions

Posted October 25, 2023
by admin

Everything worthwhile is uphill. – John Maxwell

After 36 years of marriage, I’ve learned a thing or two about good intentions. Most of them the hard way.

I recall the time when I was using the mixer to make some cookies. This was early on in our marriage. Up to that point, I had used it numerous times without incident. On this particular occasion, however, things went sideways and I managed to burn it up.

When Christmas came around a few months later and feeling remorse for what I had done with the decommissioned mixer, I made the decision to purchase a new one for her. Now, keep in mind, that this was just one of the many presents that I gave her. Surely, my wife would appreciate a new one, I reasoned.

I was wrong.

Her appreciation for receiving a new mixer did not match my good intentions of giving it to her. Needless to say, in the years since that incident, never has appliances been associated with Christmas.

Good intentions – while good, are never enough. Hang around in leadership long enough and you will learn this. Here’s what I know about good intentions:

Good intentions reflect a dream or desire for something better
Good intentions reflect that you have ambition
Good intentions reflect that you care and are invested on some level

But my good intentions and yours are never enough.

John Maxwell said, “One of the greatest gaps in life is between sounding good and doing good. We are ultimately measured by what we do and how our actions shape the world around us. Without results, all the best intentions in the world are just a way of deluding ourselves.” And this is a gap in your leadership that needs to be bridged.

The key to moving from good intentions to action and results is found in self-discipline. It’s not what you start, plot, or plan, but what you get done.

Think for a moment about what your life – both personally and professionally, would look like if you moved from good intentions to actions and results. Consider the following:

What would your relationships look like?
What would your finances look like?
What would your career look like?
What would your faith look like?
What impact can you envision making on the world?
What would you attempt to accomplish if you had the discipline to move from good intentions to action?

While it’s true that everything worthwhile is uphill, that should not stop you. It should challenge and inspire you. Click To Tweet

The late Zig Ziglar said, “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” And this is your leadership challenge- to start!

So let me ask you, what’s holding you back from taking action? Is it a fear of failure? Is it a fear of what others might say or think? Is it a lack of confidence in your own ability? Whatever it may be, let me be the first to encourage you to set those fears aside and simply start.

Final Thoughts

My wife and I are able to now look back and laugh about her getting the mixer for Christmas. But it was a lesson learned that helped me realize that despite my good intentions at the time, I could have at least waited until Valentine’s Day to give it to her.

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