How Much Can You Stand?

A few weeks ago I came across a concept of leadership that has been very helpful in my personal progress to become a better leader.  Many of us think that leaders are born.  The truth is, leaders are made.  Yes, there are those who have a special "gifting" from God but they are the exception to the rule.  The vast majority of leaders around the world were made. By this I mean that someone put them in an environment that challenged them, equipped them and instilled in them principles they have applied and thus become great leaders.

I am sure that all of us know of people we think are great leaders.  Have you ever thought about what it took for those people to get to the position they hold on your respect ladder?  They were born just like you.  Crawled in diapers just like you.  Made a mess at the table, in their paints and on the walls of their childhood home - just like you.  So what was it that caused them to go farther faster in comparison to you?  Honestly there are, of course, a lot of factors but there is one that is often overlooked.  These great leaders in your life have developed a key ability that has allowed their leadership to flourish and their organizations to grow.  It's called, Pain Tolerance.

Nothing stays the same. Change is a constant.  We work hard to get our organizations to a place of stability.  Only to find that when we reach that level there is another level that is now in our sights and now our leadership is challenged.  How do we get from HERE to THERE?

We must begin to realize that what it took to get us HERE is not enough to get us THERE.  Something has to change.  Change always precedes growth.  Without change, you would still be in diapers.  But your body changed and along with it, you had to adapt to a new reality - the bathroom. 

When you started you were crawling and trying to survive.  But eventually the time came that crawling was no longer good enough for you and you were ready to go to the next level - walking.  Well guess what?  You may not remember it now but the ability to walk and run that you possess now came at the expense of a lot of falling and scraping of knees. In other words...pain.

Pain accompanies change.  So if you want to lead an organization, you must see that there will be constant growth changes that take place.  Your ability to lead your organization through phases of growth will be directly proportional to your ability to manage personal pain.  Thus, one of the key qualities of all who desire to lead people is a high pain tolerance. 

When it comes down to it, it's not about how many people come to your business or church.  The question is how much pain can you stand?  The greater the pain tolerance, the bigger and better changes you can lead your organization through.

Comments

[Pastordude]

Rock on dawg.