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The Most Complex of Challenges in Leadership

I have had the privilege of leading men and women in very different environments. First, as an officer in the Canadian Air Force, then as a senior leader and executive in the corporate world, and also as a volunteer in various roles, which included Boy Scout leader and soccer coach for young adults. Some people will have you believe that because the context is so different, leadership must be different. My conclusion is that it is fundamentally the same.

People want and deserve good leaders. They entrust in their leaders their lives or careers, their need for security, purpose, growth, and development. In return, they seek honesty, transparency, support, and proper actions. The most complex of challenges in leadership is to find a way to be true to yourself and your subordinates’ trust, while meeting your assigned organizational objectives. Never easy, but always what one should strive for. As a young officer, I ran across the following anonymous poem, which I have always kept close by. (It was originally written in French and titled “Souviens-toi, Chef” and what follows is my English translation.) g3point0consulting.com

Remember, Leader …

If you slow down, they will stop.

If you weaken, they will lose heart.

If you sit down, they will lie down.

If you doubt, they will despair.

If you criticize, they will demolish.

But …

If you walk ahead,

They will overtake you.

If you lend them a hand,

They will give you their lives.

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