It has been said there is a thin line between love and hate, and so it is with work assignments. The line between an employee who feels challenged by them and one who feels overworked by them can be thin.

Disruption can happen anytime, anywhere, and even everywhere at the same time. We can’t control everything happening in our world on a daily basis. Chaos and unexpected surprises are inevitable. With that being said, it’s important for leaders to be willing and able to reset themselves, their teams, and their organizations when things go awry. 

If we aren’t intentional about being generous with our knowledge, our experience, and even our position, the result is the same – the potential leaders who are all around us fail to benefit from what we possess.

Leaders are hardwired to win and often become very impatient when the wins don’t happen quickly. It’s easy to forget that big wins don’t happen overnight. They are made up of many small wins along the way. In order to make significant progress and experience the grand results we desire, we need to maintain a proper perspective. If you are frustrated with not accomplishing your ultimate vision quickly enough, take the following 4 steps

Just as important as knowing who we are is knowing who we are not. When our actions do not align with our identity leaders create challenges for ourselves. In my own experiences and based on my observations of others, leaders run into trouble when we try to be someone else or when we try to apply the latest leadership “techniques”.

“Everyone has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth”. That is, planning is always impacted by the realities of life. Because a plan cannot possibly anticipate all contingencies, a perfect plan is, in effect, a myth. Thus, the value of a strategic plan is not how it is developed but how well it is implemented.

People respond exceptionally well to leaders who value them, but it’s easy to inadvertently devalue them in the hectic pace of business and life. This often happens when you focus too much on tasks rather than relationships. If you want to be a leader people love to follow, showing others that you value them is critical for your success.

Things get a lot easier when you learn to work with the rhythms and seasons of life. Those variations are a gift. But if you fight against them expecting consistent performance all the time, you’ll be constantly frustrated.

One of my favorite bosses would always say, “It’s all about leadership.” One of my favorite managers would always say, “It’s all about relationships”. They were both right. Good leadership flows out of good relationships.

Imagine being able to confidently lead your team through chaotic, uncertain situations. Imagine having a reputation for being a leader others can depend on when things are falling apart all around you. Imagine being looked to for guidance when challenges arise because you’ve built a reputation for success amidst difficulties…

It helped me to realize that leadership greatness often occurs when a leader of a team is secure enough to populate it with other good leaders and then facilitates their individual as well as team success. It is when a leader builds a team that helps her to achieve outcomes she could not have produced on her own regardless of her individual greatness.

Leaders are action takers. That’s often the reason they are given promotions and opportunities to lead. However, it’s incredibly easy to be so focused on “doing” that we forget about improving our “being.” This has significant ramifications. Who you are matters more than what you do and how you do it.

I was reflecting on how I tend to despise my natural limitations instead of accepting them, and this graphic representation came to mind. I hope you can gain some personal insights from it. When I accurately see myself the way I am, with a realistic view of my strengths and limitations, I can have self-respect and a healthy appreciation for myself.

In working with leaders that “know,” I often find that the breadth and depth that they know about a subject can actually taint their leadership effectiveness. Details, complexity and the length of time it takes to get it all out there for the followers don’t necessarily add up to clarity of direction. In fact, all the information sharing can prevent a leader from sending a clear message for action.

One of the greatest challenges for leaders is guiding their followers through the challenges of unknown situations and circumstances. Many times, the leader hasn’t experienced the situation previously. This means everyone is walking into the fog with some level of fear or trepidation together. However, when leaders boldly advance despite the uncertainty, they gain significant credibility and trust.

We can choose to be a victim of change or we can choose to make the best of change. Even if changes are being made that are outside of our control, we can still avoid the temptation to feel powerless. If we realize that we are responsible and that we are accountable, then we can be powerful.

Business literature in recent years has been bringing an emphasis to the importance of vulnerability in leaders. I believe it isn't just a fashionable theory. This past week, I noticed a prominent and public leader admit to continuing a strategy for which he had "made a name for himself" even though it was no longer working.

We hear so much about the need for leaders to have charisma in order to inspire and motivate. However, the lack of charisma does not undermine good leaders; but the lack of character does.

 What makes a talent so valuable in one situation, but then not so helpful — maybe even harmful — in another? The answer lies in knowing when: when to feature your talents, and when to hold back until a more opportune time comes along.