Leadership Tip of the Week: Don't Be Afraid to be Great

This is the 52^nd “Tip of the Week” I have written. I wanted to use this important milestone piece to highlight one of the most important lessons I learned over the last year:

“Don’t be afraid to be great.”

Leadership development needs to be aspirational; that is why we constantly challenge our students and encourage them not to be afraid of being great.

A few thoughts on being great:

• It’s not about you. Be great to make a difference in others’ lives
• Surround yourself with the right people. Don’t make the journey alone, push and pull others with you on the journey.
• Humility matters. Don’t think less of yourself, think of yourself less. No one likes an arrogant leader; give credit where credit is due and don’t forget who helped you get to where you were going.
• Don’t be afraid of failure. Failure will happen if you are truly pushing yourself toward greatness. Learn from it so you can break through and achieve new success.
• It’s not for the weak or faint of heart. There is nothing wrong with being good or even average, but it requires a lot of grit and determination to be great. Pursuing greatness will provide you with plenty of critics, obstacles and hardships. Being great is a choice, so make sure you are ready to handle the negative aspects.
• Choose love, not hate. Love and hate are both motivators, but being motivated by hate will never help you achieve greatness. Love leads to passion and we always put more energy and effort into things we are passionate about.

Your team needs you to be at your best, to be the greatest leader you can be. Don’t be afraid to separate yourself and become a great leader.