The First Job of a Leader

Long before we started our leadership development business nearly a decade ago, a friend shared a struggle earlier in their career with defining reality, as a leader and owner of their quite successful organization.

As John started his story, he shared how throughout history, it has proven that people only change when they hurt enough that they have to, or, they have learned enough (their awareness has been raised) that they want to, or they receive enough they are able to.  This was his experience as well and I (Cindy) have certainly seen it too!

Eventually, he came face-to-face with a painful reality: one of his companies was losing money and the focus of the organization was scattered.  Too many people and resources were going in different directions and by the time they were in a crisis, he started wishing he had taken actions on the indicators along the way. 

For five years, he had seen indicators and knew he should make changes but was unwilling to make them.  He needed to change his leadership team, but he didn’t want to. He loved his inner circle even when they were not taking action to create the profitability required for the company to remain successful.  Year after year, he was willing to absorb the small losses the company experienced yet kept his friends within his circle.  But after five years, the losses began to add up and take their toll.

His brother, who is a brilliant business person and known to always have a firm grip on reality, kept pulling him aside, strongly encouraging him to face the truth and make tough decisions.  He knew he was hurting himself and the organization by not making tough decisions and began to feel very discouraged. 

About this time, he and his wife had a two-week vacation and he decided to process things while he was away. 

By the time he returned from his trip, he knew he could no longer procrastinate on the changes he had to make.  Over the next couple of weeks, he revisited tough conversations and made even tougher decisions.

The friends in his inner circle who had been unwilling to change for the sake of progress, he released for an environment better suited to what they were willing to offer.  He lost a friend or two but that was okay…he still cares about them.  He gained respect and stronger relationships and friendships with those who knew they should and could be better leaders and stepped up to become the leaders that would take the organization to the vision this leader had for it.  He was engaging the mission and reaching the vision with or without them.   

Over the next few years, his business quadrupled and was serving and leading more people than the organization ever had before.  That friend was John Maxwell about 40 years ago.  And he credits this experience as the lesson that taught him the first job of a leader is to define reality. Leaders define reality and take the action necessary for the team to reach the vision and hold accountable the actions of the team needed to move the team towards the goal.