“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself – and you are the easiest person to fool.” – Richard Feynman

There are a lot of balancing acts that leaders are expected to perform.  Leaders need to consider what’s best for the business without losing sight of what’s best for customers or employees.  Leaders need to hold people accountable without becoming tyrants.  And so on.  Lately, I’ve watched a number of truly excellent leaders struggle with one balancing act in particular. 

It is impossible to be a great leader without being an unfailing optimist.  Regardless of the situation or circumstances, leaders have to believe that there is a solution or a path forward, and that they and their team will find it and successfully act on it.  As soon as leaders lose that belief, they cease to be able to lead.

That said, being an unfailing optimist does not mean being out of touch with reality.  You have to believe you can meet any challenge, but you also have to truly understand what those challenges are.  You can’t sugarcoat anything or ignore facts that are inconvenient.

Too many leaders struggle to find that balance.  They’re either super optimistic without really acknowledging the situation they’re in, or they’re so obsessed with the size of the challenge they’re facing that they don’t believe a solution could possibly exist.

Think about yourself as a leader.  When you look at the situation you’re in, or the challenges your organization faces, what is your first reaction?  Is it avoidance?  Thinking you can succeed without really being serious about what that success means?  Or is it despair?  Thinking that there just isn’t any way you can possibly deal with whatever you see in front of you?

Awareness is the first step to solving anything, so spend the next week really focusing on how you respond to things that happen during the day.  If you tend to gloss over reality, take time to really think through what you’re up against.  If you tend to obsess over negatives, make a point to clearly think about what success will look like.

We all have a tendency towards one side of the spectrum or the other.  Whatever side you tend to land on, make sure you’re searching for perspective.  You can’t lead effectively without balance.