The Loneliness of Leadership

Powerfully Choosing to Lead with Confidence

Being born in the 1980s and raised by a Dad that was in business, I was raised with all of the offerings of the successful motivational world, such as attending Success Seminars to hear the likes of Zig Ziglar, listening to cassette tapes of Brian Tracy and Stephen Covey, you get the idea.  Pre the online world, one thing that was popular at the time was Successories stores that were usually found in your local mall and it became the place to find all things motivation for your corporate teams.  One of my Dad’s favorite poster series was The Essence of Leadership.  I remember my Dad having this large framed image in his office and when I joined the business world he got me a small one for my cubicle.

The image is a lone eagle that calmly watches over its surroundings ready to take action when the need arises with the following quote:

A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. A person does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the quality of one’s actions and the integrity of one’s intent. In the end, leaders are much like eagles… they don’t flock, you find them one at a time.

This quote has resonated with me my entire career in corporate and as I coach other leaders it continues to ring true.  Seeing and reading it decades ago in his office, I didn’t fully understand or appreciate it until I became a leader myself.

One thing about leadership is that it can be a lonely place, having to make tough decisions that may or may not be popular.  But being an influential leader means activating your confidence and resilience to make the best decision that you can with the best information you have in that moment.

Being an effective leader also means surrounding yourself with others who exhibit strengths that are not your own for a well-balanced team.  A leader listens first before speaking.  They are not only listening for the spoken needs but for the unspoken needs of the team and the organization at large.

To my fellow leaders out there, for your mental and emotional health, be sure you find other leaders that you can relate to, build a community with, and reach out to when you need encouragement.  Although leadership can be lonely it can also be extremely rewarding.  Here’s to being that leader who soars and gets shit done!