Do You Have the Guts?
Do you have the guts to hire a contrarian?
Do you have the guts to have people on the team who will disagree with you?
Do you have the guts to actively look for people more talented than you?
Do you have the guts to hire someone who will break the rules and deviate from process if it means winning? Will you celebrate them for doing it?
Do you have the guts to add the chaos that comes with spontaneity to your organization?
Do you have the guts to hire someone who will take risks and fail taking them?
Do you have the guts to have people on the team who think and act completely different than you?
Do you have the guts to have a subordinate tell you, you are wrong, EVEN if they are wrong?
Do you have the guts to let someone else pull all the strings?
Do you have the guts to get out of the way?
Do you have the guts to say, “I don’t know?” and ask the team for help?
Do you have the guts to be uncomfortable?
Do you have the guts?
I don’t care what your business card says. If you don’t have the guts, you aren’t a leader. You may be a good manager. You may be good with spread sheets and PowerPoint. You may be good at office politics, but you aren’t a leader.
It takes guts to be a leader. It takes real strength to be a leader. Unfortunately, these characteristics scare people, they scare companies. They disrupt the status quo. They challenge the systems. The create chaos. They create unpredictability. Corporations thrive on predictability and the status quo and unfortunately the cost to maintaining the status quo is the loss of great leaders.
Do you have the guts?