A Tough Call

The following is an excerpt from Leadership Gold by John Maxwell:

Every leader faces tough times – and that’s when leaders distinguish themselves and show who they really are. Leading others can be very difficult and can take great courage. Of course, it’s not that way all of the time. About 95 percent of the decisions a CEO makes could be made by a reasonably intelligent high school graduate. What is often required is common sense. But CEO’s don’t get paid for those decisions; they get paid for the other 5 percent! Those are the tough calls. Every change, every challenge, and every crisis requires a tough call, and the way those are handled is what separates good leaders from the rest.

How do you know when you’re facing a tough call and need to be at your best as a leader? You’ll know when the decision is marked by these three things:

1. The Tough Call Demands Risk
2. A Tough Call Brings with It an Inward Battle
3. A Tough Call will Distinguish You as a Leader

This got me thinking…

Leadership is fun when the road is smooth. When everyone is happy and all the plans fall into place there is no better position than the leaders. However, when the road is bumpy, no one’s happy and every well thought out plan seems to fail… there is no worse position than the leaders.

Making tough decisions, when no one else can or will, is what makes A leader become THE leader. A leader has a title and holds a position. THE leader has a passion and holds influence.

If I’m understanding Mr. Maxwell correctly, leadership demands that we be willing to risk, fight and be clearly identified as THE leader. Therefore, it seems that the first tough call for a leader is to decide if you’re willing to make the tough calls.