Courage Establishes Leadership

LEADERS love progress. Progress is what keeps them coming back to the task of leadership. Nothing is more discouraging to a leader than the prospect of being stranded in an environment where progress is impossible.

Progress requires change. If an organization, ministry, business, or relationship is going to make progress, it must change. That is, over time, it must evolve into something different. It must become better, more relevant, more disciplined, better aligned, more strategic.

But organizations, like people, resist change.Organizations seek an equilibrium. People in organizations seek stability. both can be deterrents to progress because progress requires change and change is viewed as the antithesis of stability.

Keep in mind that everything you loathe about your current environment or organization was originally somebody's good idea. At the time it might have been considered revolutionary. to suggest change is to suggest that your predecessors lacked insight. Or worse, it is easier to leave things as they are, to accept the status quo and learn to live with it.

While that may be easier, it is not an option for a leader. Accepting the status quo is the equivalent of accepting a death sentence. Where there's no progress, there's no growth. If there's no growth, there's no life. So leaders find themselves in the precarious and often career-jeopardizing position of being the one to draw attention to the need for change. consequently, courage is a non-negotiable quality for the next generation leader.

Leaders challenge what is (present) for the sake of what could and should be (future). that's the job of the leader. But challenging what has always been and what has always worked before in the past requires courage.

Simply recognizing the need for change does not define leadership.

The leader is the one who has the courage to act on what he or she sees.

Andy Stanley - "Next Generation Leader: Five Essentials For Those Who Will Shape The Future"