Leaders Distinguish Themselves In Tough Times!

3 Key Insights

What is your current goal as a leader?

TRUISM: You cannot lead effectively if your goal is to be a people pleaser. Every leader will face tough times and it is in these times that reveals the true nature of what is on the inside. Every change, every challenge, and every crisis requires a tough call, and the way those are handled is what separates good leaders from the rest.

How do you know when you are facing a tough call and need to be at your best as a leader? You will know when the decision is marked by these three insights.

Tough Calls Demand Risk – Larry Osborne once observed about highly effective leaders is how little they have in common and yet have one particular thing in common; effective leaders are willing to take a risk. You cannot afford to play-things safe and please people at the same time. Progress in a crisis will require certain risks. Are you willing to make those type of decisions?

A Tough Call Brings With It an Inward Battle – It has been stated that all the significant battles are waged within self. Often these internal battles occur far from the spotlight of leadership and casual  observers are not even aware of what is happening. Pastor/Leader Charles Swindoll stated; “Courage is not limited to the battlefield…The real tests of courage are much quieter. They are the inner test, like remaining faithful when nobody’s looking, like enduring pain when the room is empty, like standing alone when you are misunderstood.” You must win this inner struggle first!

A Tough Call Will Distinguish You As A Leader – It does not do any good to complain about how tough these days are while we lead various enterprises. Former New York City Major Rudy Giuliani stated, “When the right person is the leader, he does better during tough times.” When there is a rapid shift of momentum, a good leader will give direction and courage to keep moving forward.

Winston Churchill stands as a historical personality of making tough decisions in the face of a protracted WWII. In his famous speech he said…“But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new dark age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves, that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth^[e] last for a thousand years, men will still say, “This was their finest hour.“