As Leaders there are many burdens you should not carry except for one!

An ambitious young lady once asked a lonely elder, "What is life's heaviest burden?" The elder responded by saying, "To have nothing to carry."  This haunting quote by author Rick McDaniel got me thinking out loud that as leaders we carry more baggage than we probably should in bearing the burdens of others. The problem is that when we do so we may neglect carrying the ONE burden that we should ALWAYS carry.

Now if you have been reading my past 5 or so blogs, you may be thinking that “isn’t carrying the weight for others a hallmark of a selfless Servant Leader?” Let me respond by sharing the answer to that is a definite . . . maybe!

You see I believe there are many unhealthy burdens that we keep carrying around. Burdens of regret over lost opportunities, missed relationships, and poor actions or mistakes on our part that will weigh us down if we keep carrying them. We also weigh ourselves down by holding onto grudges, unfair treatment, toxic people and situations, as well as envy of the success of others. Such burdens may have served you then, but they do not now. Best to just let them go because I promise you those people, situations, and things let you go a long time ago.  

The one burden that I believe that leaders should carry, however, is that one great work that you are needed to do because no one else but you can do it! Now I don’t expect anyone to carry the burdens of the world on their shoulders alone. All the injustice, discrimination, and corruption around us will not be rectified by one person, but it will be by one person at a time! That’s the point I am trying to make here. You and I cannot change everything, but we can impact something. And that is the ONE burden you should always carry!

Now I know in this day and age of celebrity supported hash-tag and wristband movements, it seems that anything we normal people could do would not make much of a difference. Granted, such big movements start important national conversations but don’t ever think doing one great work is only limited to those “go big or go home” campaigns. What I am encouraging you to do is to go big at home!

I hope at this point you are saying to yourself, “OK, that does not seem too unreasonable, but I am not sure what that ONE great work is.” I would respond by sharing three questions that leadership expert and author John Maxwell often teaches around this topic of becoming leaders of significance. In fact, I encourage you to write down some answers to the following questions and see if a pattern emerges.

What do you cry about? Of all the things that trouble you in your life, work, or community, what impacts you the most?

What do you sing about? What brings you joy and happiness in terms of when good things happen to others?

What do you dream about? If you could have your part of the world the way you wanted it, what would it look like, sound like, or feel like?

How did that go? I bet something started to take shape in your heart and mind. To help you refine your one great work, I want to share an abbreviated process on finding your leadership platform from my book, Leading Out Loud.

VISUALIZE –This is the first step in raising your leadership voice. Effective leadership begins with “what ifs” as opposed to just “what is”. Think about the following:

• What would the impact of your efforts be like?
• What difference will it make in the life of others?

CRYSTALIZE – How can you communicate your leadership platform more clearly?

• What IS the MAIN idea?
• Why is it important or matter?

STRATEGIZE – Now that you have a firm vision for what you want to do, think strategically about how you want to go about sharing and doing it.

• Who can help you?
• What resources do you have now and what will you need?

VOCALIZE – Once your efforts start to gain traction it is critical to capitalize on that momentum.

• What system or process can help you keep your leadership platform front and center with those that can help or impact?

REALIZE – The next stage of the process is to realize your progress. Again, do not waste your energy and effort on people who are not supportive. Think of ways to create “buy-in” from important stakeholders.

• List three important individuals or groups that you can enroll to help you.
• List two specific ideas that you can provide them to help cascade your message or cause.
• Commit to one way you will sustain the momentum of your leadership platform.

I hope the above was both helpful and encouraging. I am not asking you to change the world, just challenging you to impact your part of it! The most impactful Servant Leaders I know are ones that concentrate their efforts on what they can influence. Their home, their business, their part of the organization, and/or their local community. If you are burdened to go bigger, then good for you but it all starts at home. 

The only thing I insist upon is if you lead, that you lead ON, FOR, or TOWARD something, therefore your one great burden may be:

• To raise great kids.
• Teach valuable lessons.
• Run a business that adds value to others.
• Restore a patient back to their family.
• Help others in need.
• Give young people valid reasons to feel good about themselves.

The list is endless, but you only have to pick ONE!

The world may never know your name, but it will experience your positive impact! I believe we were designed to do one great thing in fair trade for the air we breath and the happiness we get to experience. It’s a small burden to carry for the privilege of leading others.

As always if I can help you and the people you associate with Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I would invite you to email me or to visit my website below and see if any of the training or coaching experiences I offer can provide an impact. If you want to know more about finding your leadership platform, I would direct you to Leading Out Loud: Strategies for Raising Your Leadership Voice! available on Amazon.com. 

Yours in Leadership,

Bill Faulkner

Principal Consultant – Out Loud Strategies

Independent Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team ^TM

Email = bill@outloudinc.com

Visit our website at: www.outloudinc.com

For more information on the John Maxwell Team, please visit

http://www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/williamfaulkner/

Feel free to “LIKE” our FB Page www.facebook.com/outloudinc