Leading: Chore or Cause

I was once asked, “With so many decisions leaders make daily, what would you

say is one of the most important?” I thought on her question for a moment and

responded, “Don’t let the challenges of leadership choke out the joy of leading!” She

asked, “why that answer,” to which I replied, “The gift of leadership is a blessing, not a

burden.” If a leader decides leading is a burden, then it becomes a chore, and the joy of

leading diminishes exponentially.

Her facial expression demonstrated that the answer I gave sparked more

questions in her mind. So, I asked her, “which would you rather do, accomplish a chore

or advance a cause?” “I hate chores,” she said, “so I guess I would rather advance a

cause.” Her answer made my point. Leaders who accept leadership as a “chore” will

never be able to lead well. Conversely, leaders who view leading as a “cause” are well

on their way to becoming authentic leaders.

Leaders viewing leadership as a cause experience the joy of leading every day.

Each new day brings with it new opportunities for these kinds of leaders to grow, learn,

and develop (glad) into leaders with passion, purpose, and a plan to lead in such a way

that inspires motivation, produces positive results, and advances the potential for

leadership success. Remembering the acronym in parenthesis above, “glad leaders

make great leaders!”

Authentic leaders will not allow the challenges of leadership to choke out the joy

of leading, and having received the wonderful gift to lead, they gladly choose to lead

well with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. Like I said, “great leaders are glad

leaders, are you?