LLML NUMBER 9
Mowing the lawn involves a lot of pushing. However, if I want to get the lawn mowed, I have to keep on pushing. To keep on pushing I will sweat, I will feel the burn, I will fight fatigue, and I will struggle. I have to do all that to keep going. That mower isn’t going to push itself! This leads me to LLML (Leadership Lessons from Mowing the Lawn) Number 9:
Leadership involves a lot of hard work.
People talk all the time about working smarter and not harder. I am all for that. I continually try to work smarter and not harder. That principle is sound and we should all practice it as much as possible. However, as sound as that principle is, leadership still requires hard work. Dealing with people problems, making tough decisions, going the second, third, and fourth mile all require very hard work. Leadership is not easy, but the more committed you are to fulfilling your role as a leader the more willing you will be to doing the hard work of a leader.
The TV series, Deadliest Catch , chronicles the lives of commercial crab fishermen on the Bering Sea. One of the common refrains from the ships’ captains is the need to be committed to the daily grind. You don’t catch all your crab in one pot or in one day. You must be committed to that daily grind and it is hard work. You are baiting and hauling pot after pot, day after day, doing that daily grind. That is what makes these captains the leaders that they are in their industry. LLML Number 9:
Leadership involves a lot of hard work.
