To Lead is to Serve. To Serve is to Sacrifice.

While there are many life impacting rewards of being a leader, one of the tough truths about leadership is that at times it can also be very costly. To lead is to serve, and to serve is to sacrifice. Leaders don’t always get to do what they like to do, or what they want to do, but instead are often in the position that they must do what only they can do, and what those they serve need for them to do. This often involves personal sacrifice, and unfortunately for the family and loved ones of the leader, they can be called on to share in the sacrifice.

These sacrifices can come in the currency of time, of personal attention and of personal space. A wise leader knows when these sacrifices must be made and when they can and should be avoided. A wise leader also learns the importance of explaining and sharing these tough lessons to those who are impacted with the personal sacrifice involved with leading. The leader can purposely use such times to teach and mentor those impacted so they understand and also grow their own personal leadership skills as well.

The leader must also be wise and not let the many distractions and pulls on their attention steal away precious time that could be better served by others and reserve the personal sacrifices to the significant events that only they can shoulder. Later today I will need to inform my son and some friends that I will not be able to participate in a canoe and backpacking trip we were planning on going on together due to a commitment that I must attend to. This pains me deeply. I cherish our outdoor adventures together and if this situation could be avoided I would, but alas it cannot. Now it will be my parental leadership responsibility to him to carve out some time for the two of us to undertake what I hope will be an even greater adventure.

As I was about to post this blog I found out that this coming weekend will also need to be cut short so that I can fly to another continent to attend a critical meeting with a customer early next week. This happens to fall on a very special weekend where my youngest daughter will graduate from college. My son, daughter in law and my granddaughter will also fly into town to help celebrate her graduation achievement. I will indeed get to participate in her graduation ceremony, but unfortunately I will need to miss some of the afterglow celebrations. It is with a very heavy heart that I again reconfirm the adage, “The mantel of leadership is heavy, it is not to be placed on weak shoulders”.

I recently came across the below video of a young 13 year old girl named Stephanie whose father’s leadership mission calls him far from home for an extended time. I like how she exerted some leadership of her own to help ease the pain of separation and alleviate some of the loneliness of their separation. I hope you enjoy and take inspiration to pay the price of leadership to accomplish great things and to help make this a better world for those who follow in our footsteps.

Stay Strong.