General George S. Patton said “The test of success is not what you do when you are on top. Success is how high you bounce when you hit the bottom.” And, nearly fifty years prior, in his literary essay As a Man Thinketh, James Allen stated that “Circumstance does not make the man, it reveals him to himself.” This is most true in leadership.
Leader is not a title but a reference to the actions you take. To lead well you must adopt and demonstrate those behaviors which you would like your team to emulate. You must be consistently trustworthy, hard-working and committed to personal growth and professional development and genuinely care for those you lead.
It is essential to understand that there is no separation between who you are and what you do. How then does this relate to James Allen’s wisdom that circumstance does not make the man, rather it reveals him to himself? I believe this to mean that when challenged or struggling to achieve, you must be unwavering. You must be tenacious and creative when seeking solutions and you must remain positive and committed to the outcome.
Your team will look to you for leadership behaviors more when times are tough. I won’t go as far as to say it is easy to lead in times of plenty; but clearly it is more difficult when you are facing pressures to perform, lack of resources, or stiff market competition.
You must be innovative, brave, supportive, ethical and resilient. If you build this, they will follow. You will never learn more about your own leadership style and capabilities than you will when the going gets tough!
Last updated on March 5th, 2018 at 06:26 am
