A Leaders Sacrifice 💪
Being a leader has the be one of the hardest things we can choose in a career. Choosing to lead a team well involves a lot of things! I mean there have been so many books written on the topic for good reason.
Leadership involves courage, teamwork, hard work, servant leadership, the list goes on and on.
Yet when I look at leadership in my life, when I look at good leadership I find that where there is leadership, there is sacrifice.
Whether you are leading a team, or a family, or a nonprofit. The leaders I know have to sacrifice. They have to sacrifice time, money, energy all because they believe in what they are building.
I know this might feel "unkind" but let's take this idea to the workshop and run through a few scenarios to see how the root of a good HEALTHY leader is sacrifice. The kind of humble sacrifice that you never really see when you look at a leader.
A Good Leaders Sacrifice
Covering the workload for a staff member to see his family or attend to an unexpected emergency.
Willing to work late, because they are trying to build a culture of helping others, so they spend several extra hours helping others.
Rather than participating in office gossip about one of their co-workers, they sacrifice inter-office status by protecting that information.
They take the responsibility for a certain team member's actions in the meeting even though that team member will never know.
Choose to not get a promotion or opportunity for the sake of their family.
Again I am not saying that bravery was not employed during that conference room meeting. I am saying that a good leader is willing to sacrifice something for the improvement of their team or family.
So often we think that leadership is "easy" or that "we can do better" or what have you. I have been there. Sometimes I have to take a step back and remember that some leaders around me are having to sacrifice a lot to support the team. They are giving a lot of their time, energy, and others.
Now I have seen leadership employed in the other direction. They are the last to sacrifice, the last to pitch in, and they are the first to accept rewards. That is 100% NOT leadership 😄 That is a selfish person pursuing their own goals, and I could bet you that the work environment is not healthy, which means it's not growing.
I am not an expert on leadership by any means. There are TONS of good resources out there I would recommend if you are looking to level up your leadership skills. Maybe you are not sure how to build a good team, or you are not sure how to be a good leader.
I will tell you this. If you put in an honest effort, you will see honest results.
In my leadership journey, I have found the following books helpful...
Book Name | Author | Description |
​Dare to Lead | Brene Brown | General Leadership, Courage, Becoming a well-rounded leader |
Everybody Always | Bob Goff | How to love everyone around you. How to include and be kind in so much of life. |
Better Decisions, Fewer Regrets | Andy Stanely | How to make decisions you won't regret in life. What questions to ask yourself. |
Start with Why | Simon Sinek | ​How a great leader can inspire action inside their team |
5 Dysfunctions of a team | ​Patrick Lencioni | ​Practical guidance on how to lead a team to a high performing status |
Even if you are a veteran leader and have not read any of these books, I highly recommend them. Leaders should be reading books to elevate their skills and understanding so that they can bring in new perspectives and ideas into their team. I assure you that when you start reading on a consistent basis, you and your team will improve on it.
Wishing you the best of luck! Comment what Book you are reading, or have found helpful! If you're going to start reading a new book, comment on that as well! 😃