Leadership and Sacrifice: An inseparable combination

Posted: October 20, 2011 | Categories: Leadership

Think about someone in your life who made a positive difference for you.  It could be a parent, coach, teacher, boss, co-worker, friend, or someone else special.  My bet is that this person was in there with you as you navigated through your challenges and triumphs.

For years, I facilitated a 12-week leadership class where participants were challenged to bring examples of leadership and personal growth.  My favorite examples were defining moments of childhood.  One person shared an incident that happened when they were about 4.  They accidentally spilled a glass of milk all over the floor.  The mother was right there.  What do you think she said?  It wasn’t, “I told you to be more careful when picking up that glass” No.  Instead, she said, “Well, it looks like we have a mess to clean up.  Here is a rag and a bucket.  Let’s get busy!”  And then there is my favorite of all time:  A father asked his daughter what the most special moment was when she was a child.  She said, “It was that time we were in the car and I said I wanted to pick some flowers along the side of the road.  Even though we were heading somewhere, you took a few minutes to stop and let me pick those flowers” Wow!  He thought she was going to say, “When you took me to Disney World”.

Relationship expert Dale Carnegie once said, “Good manners are made of petty sacrifices”.  Did you ever have someone write you a special note that you still have?  How long did it take that person to write it?  How long have you had it? Let’s keep going with this…

Years ago, there was a show on TV called, “Kid’s say the darndest things”.  A young girl was asked, “Who is your favorite person?”  She said, “My Grandma.  She always has time for me. “

Some of you may have seen the show, “Mr. Holland’s Opus”.  There was a turning point in the show where he was alone working on his opus, and he was interrupted by a young lady who was struggling with her clarinet.  He looked at his work, then looked at her, then laid the work aside.

Here’s what this all adds up to:  To be a true leader, we must be willing to sacrifice.  Coaching and mentoring can be frustrating, and people and relationships can be so inconvenient.  So, as a leader, how much are we willing to be inconvenienced?  How much are we willing to sacrifice?  Leadership.  It is more than just a bunch of fancy words.