So You Have a few Obstacles

Jay Newman, PhD, Founding Partner, Culture By Choice

Life is never linear. There are road blocks, detours, steep hills, and hairpin turns with no guardrails. Become a leader and you add some serious potholes to the mix! It is what you do with these obstacles that can set you apart from the rest of the pack.

Some well meaning advisors will tell you to look at the obstacles as opportunities and you’re thinking, how am I supposed to do that? The only thing you can see is the opportunity to work on your obstacle overcoming skills! Well, that just might be the point. Sometimes, obstacles are just obstacles and you can let them stop your progress or you can figure out how to get around them, over them, under them, or through them. Legacy Leaders don’t give up easily. They have grit, which Angela Duckworth says is a unique combination of passion and perseverance.

One of the hallmark features of every Legacy Leader is GRIT. Using Duckworth’s definition, that combination of passion and perseverance, we begin to get a picture of amazing people who stick to their mission in the face of incredible odds, but this is not a blind pursuit of a goal at all costs. There must be a wise review of options, methods, pathways, available tools, and opportunities to revise, improvise, and create. And finally, there must be a willingness to admit failure and organize a retreat. Every Legacy Leader needs to know when it’s time to cut our losses and live to fight another day.

Perhaps the most difficult job the Legacy Leader has is to decide what battles to fight and which battles are not worth the effort. This is why values and principles are so important. Any one can figure out how to traverse the easy road. The hard job is figuring out how to traverse the pothole strewn, obstacle infested, narrow, winding, steep grade road that leads us to goals that really matter. When we are guided by what we really believe in and we stay true to those beliefs, our experiences gain real meaning and purpose. It’s not the life of freedom from, it’s the life of dedication to. Being a Legacy Leader is not the easy road. It’s not complicated but it’s never easy.