Leadership is Not Easy

Leadership is a powerful thing. People talk about it, struggle for it, fight over it, write books about it... the topic of leadership is in the forefront of many people’s minds. As a concept, leadership is fairly simple (a leader speaks, others listen), but in practice, it is much harder to grasp.

I have led others many times in my life. When I was in the Army, I was occasionally put in charge of groups of people (sometimes even over people who outranked me). I have been shift leader at different jobs and ran many projects and other tasks. The easy part about leading at work is that the people I lead there are paid to follow me. If they don’t follow orders, there are repercussions. Whether they lose part of their paychecks, get negative reviews, get moved to a different department, or even get fired, there are many negative consequences for those who chose not to follow orders. There are a number of ways to keep people in line at work. Unless you’re bad enough to incite a mutiny, those you lead will follow.

I currently help lead the high school portion of my church’s youth group. Now, that can get a little tricky. Leading volunteers is not an easy task. It can be especially difficult when those I lead are older and have families of their own. People look strangely at the unmarried (I got married about a month ago, at the age of 33, so I’m definitely aware of the negative stigma surrounding unmarried leaders) and childless when dealing with church leadership. Leading volunteers is really fun though. I get to hone my skills and learn a lot about myself in the process. Volunteers are usually not worried about losing their position or anything like that, so they tend to be open and honest when things are not going so well. It isn’t always fun to have people tell me when I’m falling short, but I have to be willing to understand that if I am leading others and they are offering suggestions (even if those suggestions are in the form of complaints) then I have the opportunity to listen and grow.

That, in my opinion, is the essence of leadership. We should lead others because we care about them, not because it makes us feel special. If you are in a position to lead others, look around and try to see how those you lead react to you. Are they frightened? Are they nervous? Do they try to hide from you? Are they always grumbling or complaining? If so, take a look in the mirror and ask yourself if you are really leading those people, or if you are just pushing them around. On the other hand, do those around you tend to love helping out? Do they really enjoy what they do? Do they understand the mission or the vision? Do they offer suggestions without fear of retaliation? If so, you’re probably on the right track.

Leadership is not easy. There is sacrifice and there is heartache. Leaders have to be willing to invest their all into their vision. They need to take care of those around them, building a team out of individuals. Leadership is not easy. But nothing truly rewarding ever is.