Lonely to be a leader

"The higher you go, the thinner the air gets", a phrase spoken by Shirley Denyes to me as a young leader early in my professional career. At the time I didn't understand her statement but 18 years later, I have found that there is wisdom in her words. When you fill a leadership role that helps others, no matter how large the group, you WILL be misunderstood. You WILL be responsible for making decisions that your peers never have to make. You will NOT be able to share all of the information that helped you form a decision. At the end of the day, when the consequences of your decisons are beginning to be experienced by those following you, you will be in a crowd and yet feel alone. No-one else will feel what you feel. Its lonely to be a leader.

I have become a big fan and practicioner of team leadership and especially appreciate the value that diversity of gifts can bring to the leadership of any organization. However, I have noticed in recent years that there are large numbers of people who have difficulty making the hard call. There are some decisions that must be made without universal buy-in. In a culture that always seeks to have democratic votes for everything, it can be difficult to stand alone in a sea of cynicism. May I submit to you the thought that this generation desperately needs heroes who can step up to the plate and charge ahead without fear of losing their status, reputation, friendship or position? People today seem so afraid to be insensitive, politically incorrect and lead passively because they know what they don't want to be. Its almost like the constant derision of media and cultural criticism toward any and every form of American leader has erroded individual willingness to put ourselves on the chopping block. I'm not talking about being stupid and on a crusade. Instead, I feel like there is a need for leaders at every level to be willing to tackle what they feel is right regardless of the consequences. To take that risk means living in "thin air". It means not everyone is willing to take the same risk.

If you want to do great things, to lead people from one place to the next, then you better be willing to embrace the awkward and difficult silence that sometimes accompanies the most difficult decisions. Thankfully, its not a feeling that lingers forever but it WILL happen. As I heard a friend quote Randall Ross, the very successful pastor of a megachurch, saying "I'm not paid to do all of the work (though he does work hard), I'm paid to make the decisons (because no-one else has that responsibility)". I sure hope you and I are ready to step up to the challenge!