Over the years, I spent time with his leadership team and the thousand plus others that he led.  Frequently they would comment on how they loved working with him because, while they may not always like what he had to say, they always knew where they stood.

This leader had all sorts of sayings that went perfectly with his personality.  One of my favorites was “ I am leaning in on this one.”  This meant that he was diving head first into the problem.  He knew that business and life are filled with problems and challenges, which are just waiting to be solved and learned from.

He helped me to see that candor combined with compassion is fuel for a healthy culture.  He is not a leader that ignores the challenges with a hope that over time they will go away.  Instead, he leans in, knowing that he must have the courage to press toward a solution.

This week I am nearly finished with a book by Dr. Henry Cloud called Integrity: The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality.  In this must-read book, Dr. Cloud talks about leaning in.  He says that great leaders with high levels of integrity don’t ignore the elephant in the room.  They have the courage to lean into the problems that most people shy away from.

Leadership takes courage.  Our teammates, our customers, our spouses, our children and our communities are looking for people with the character and the courage to be the leaders many fear to be.

Take a look in the mirror.  Have you been willing to lean in and work to find the better solution?  Or have you been sitting back hoping that the issue will go away or someone else will take care of the problem?

Lean In!

Related posts:

1. Questioners and Truth Tellers
2. Reboundability
3. Everybody Sells

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.