You Can Only Lead People…

and if you can’t handle that, leadership isn’t for you.

In chapter 2 of 16 Stones, I talk about five passions that leaders must have if they want to lead effectively. The third is:

#3—Passion for people. You don’t lead machines, you don’t lead software, and you don’t lead buildings. You lead people. Leading is always about people. So if you are going to lead, you better have passion for people. If you don’t really care much about the people you are trying to lead, they’ll know it and will only follow you kicking and screaming because they have to. You will have to drag them along, and you’ll be worn out long before you get to the finish line.

Wally Bock of Three Star Leadership—who I read daily—recently posted some Hard Truths About Leadership which relate primarily to leading people. His punch line is: “If you can’t handle that, leadership isn’t for you.”

It’s worth your time to click on the link and ponder these eight hard truths about leadership. If leadership seems hard now, it could be because of one of the eight. It may be something you can correct; maybe you can’t. If not, then leadership may not be for you. But that’s okay. There are a lot of great ways besides leading that you can contribute to your organization. Leading may not be for you, but something of value is. Find it and be excellent at it.

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Information about 16 Stones can be found at 16 Stones Book.