“Although you may not always be able to avoid difficult situations, you can modify the extent to which you can suffer by how you choose to respond to the situation.” – Dalai Lama
The world we live in is challenging. Regardless of where we start our journey, regardless of the opportunities or difficulties that come our way, regardless of who we encounter, life has a tendency to grind us down. It’s not all – or even mostly – bad, but bad certainly has a major role to play.
When things don’t go the way you’d planned, or some kind of barrier presents itself, or you just flat out have something bad happen to you, how do you respond? Despite what people want to say or believe about themselves, most people in challenging situations either quit or complain, or both. The picture we have of ourselves being tough and resilient is usually not accurate.
As leaders, we forfeit the right to give up when things get difficult. We don’t get to lead only when things go according to plan. In fact, when things go according to plan, the people we lead tend to not need us as much as we think. When we become valuable, truly indispensable leaders is when there’s trouble.
Think about yourself as a leader. How would you define your career to this point? When you think back on the situations and events that most clearly show who you are, is it all easy stuff? Of course not. Our careers and our lives are defined by how we handle the most difficult situations we face. It’s our opportunity to have the biggest impact.
What does that mean for you right now? What defining situation are you faced with? How are you dealing with it? When you look back on early 2025, what do you want to remember?
You have an opportunity to impact the people and the organization you lead. Will you take advantage of it? Or will you look the other way and miss your chance? Too many leaders just want to lead when it’s fun or easy. We don’t need you then. We need you now.