Leadership Is Hard. But Does It Have To Be?

Tribes. By Seth Godin

“Discomfort

Leadership is scarce because few people are willing to go through the discomfort required to lead. This scarcity makes

leadership valuable. If everyone tries to lead all the time, not much happens. It’s discomfort that creates the leverage that

makes leadership worthwhile.

In other words, if everyone could do it, they would, and it wouldn’t be worth much.

It’s uncomfortable to stand up in front of strangers.

It’s uncomfortable to propose an idea that might fail.

It’s uncomfortable to challenge the status quo.

It’s uncomfortable to resist the urge to settle.

When you identify the discomfort, you’ve found the place where a leader is needed.

If you’re not uncomfortable in your work as a leader, it’s almost certain you’re not reaching your potential as a leader.”

One of the driving purposes behind the DAoL is that you and everyone else can be a leader, whether in front of a team, a company, a community leader, parent or just becoming a more dynamic capable person in your own right. It’s your choice.

Leadership has certain fundamentals that must be understood, practiced and applied. It’s not always easy, it does take lots of hard work, and you will make mistakes. Seth is right in that you will be uncomfortable, but you won’t always be, and it won’t last forever.

Mastery comes from practice, making mistakes and then reapplying with lessons learned, over and over again.

“An expert is one who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field.” – Niels Bohr