No one has ever made life’s journey without encountering obstacles. There will always be unexpected “bumps in the road” and how we deal with them will determine if they are stumbling blocks or stepping stones.
Several months ago, I shared with you the wisdom of an Eagle Scout candidate who stated that leaders inspire you to accomplish things you never thought yourself capable of doing. This morning I read something said by Sir Winston Churchill that gave me another view of inspiration.
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficultly.”
I believe the same can be said for inadequate leaders and great leaders. Consider…
The mediocre or poor leader encounters an obstacle and sees a problem. This problem quickly becomes an overwhelming roadblock to success; an impediment that makes it impossible to reach a goal. In other words, a ready-made excuse for failure. While he or she may not accept the excuse from his or her followers, it is expected that superiors will not only accept it from him/her; but, will acknowledge its validity and support the failure to achieve the objective.
Conversely, great leaders see the obstacle for what it is; an opportunity to excel; a chance to do something that lesser men and women have failed to accomplish. The great leader sees the opportunity to demonstrate the “can do” attitude of the team and highlights the contributions of each team member in finding the solution to the difficulty.
Great leaders inspire their followers to closely examine the stumbling block and find ways to convert it into a stepping stone to ongoing success!