I come from a family of readers.
When Michael first visited my family I think he was surprised that we all sat together in the living room reading. We weren’t reading the same book. We weren’t reading out loud. We weren’t sharing anything that we had read. We were simply together – each of us reading our own book.
That might not sound exciting to many of you – but to be honest that image of my family is one of my earliest and favorite memories. So it should come as no surprise that I’m still a reader today. I read magazines. I read trashy romance novels. I read trade journals. And I read business books. Lots and lots of business books.
One of the books that Melynda and I just finished is Tribes by Seth Godin. And I loved where Godin talks about the relationship between leadership and discomfort. He says:
Leadership is scarce because few people are willing to go through the discomfort required to lead. This scarcity makes leadership valuable. It’s discomfort that creates the leverage that makes leadership worthwhile.
In other words, if everyone could do it, they would, and it wouldn’t be worth much.
It’s uncomfortable to stand up in front of strangers.
It’s uncomfortable to propose an idea that might fail.
It’s uncomfortable to challenge the status quo.
It’s uncomfortable to resist the urge to settle.
When you identify the discomfort, you’ve found the place where a leader is needed.
I have my own favorite places of discomfort. I would rather run from conflict instead of facing it. I still prefer pleasing to challenging. And I like things to stay the same – which means I truly loathe change!
These are my challenges. My opportunities.
So where are the places in your life that are uncomfortable? What leadership opportunities are waiting? Think about that and then consider following the advice that Melynda always gives me, “Go to the places that scare you!”
