“I’m not telling you it is going to be easy, I’m telling you it is going to be worth it” – Unknown
The title of this blog is an actual quote delivered by a dear friend of mine to his U.S. Army paratroopers many years ago. Stay with me, folks. Indeed, this quote, void of context, sounds uninviting and toxic. Even with context is doesn’t land well. When I hear it, I envision a flint-eyed military drill instructor bellowing these words to a defenseless group of trainees on the cusp of an arduous event – one which will use punishing mental and physical activities to test toughness, willpower, and self-discipline. Any volunteers? In this scenario, “make your life miserable,” works perfectly. Outside of it, the quote would cause any sane individual to run and hide.
I laughed when I heard him share this quote and story as I had been on the receiving end of these words and treatment in some of my military training. However, I confess, in the contemporary era of leadership I now find myself, as a private business owner, it made me cringe. In the story, he described to his paratroopers his role to create the needed rigor to prepare them for combat. “I want to create the stories of hardship you’ll tell your grandkids someday – stories of hardship you’ll long remember struggling together with your battle buddies at your side overcoming adversity to accomplish the impossible, not stories of ease and comfort.” It made total sense to me, but I offered, “I love the intent and spirit of that concept, but it must be coupled with the big hug.” He totally agreed and did love his paratroopers. Leaders I served under who could inflict hardship on me and my team but demonstrate their love were the ones I would follow into hell. If I knew they were of pure heart and mind – if they truly had my growth and wellbeing in mind, I would tolerate, even appreciate their ‘punishment.’ What value is this to the modern leader in a private business – one which will not be sent to war? What can be learned and modeled? “A lot,” is the answer. Let’s swap miserable for challenged.
Can you lead a team or an organization where its people are challenged yet loved? …
Read the rest here.
