A couple weeks ago I was sitting with my boss/mentor/friend/lifelong antagonist PJ Caposey and made the comment that I am growing to understand the concept that ignorance is bliss. Listen, the older I get, the more I learn about myself, the less I wish I knew. With knowledge comes the weight of responsibility. From that conversation, and from dozens of other conversations that have challenged me to become better, popped out this thought.
How do I find joy, purpose, value agnostic to the input of others? How do I ensure that my drive is not exclusively related to accomplishments? How do I find a balance?
So, let’s caveat that this is not a post answering those questions directly because I have a lot more counseling sessions with PJ before I learn that. But it is about one minuscule thought, that has snowballed for me.
What separates great leaders from good leaders isn’t the accomplishments, it’s their reaction to consequences, positive or negative.
Hear me out. Every action in life has a consequence, intended or unintended, positive or negative. I find myself often times talking to staff, friends, my family about the 7 additional consequences that each decision makes. What we often think about is that truly great leaders make lots of choices that have positive consequences.
Sure – great leadership often times is about consistently making choices that yield positive results and, therefore, positive consequences. Sure – great leaders typically yield great results.
But, I think there are a lot of adequate leaders who get good results and make good choices because they have great people around them.
What makes a great leader great is how we react to all of the consequences life throws at us, both positive and negative. Listen, we’ve all had a boss/leader (not synonymous terms, but using them here) that gets good results ….. and then turns into an arrogant prick who is insufferable to be around. We’ve all had a boss/leader (AGAIN, not synonymous) who gets good results and throws a pity party because no one praised them to their expectations.
This is the point. We are quick to point out leaders who react poorly to negative consequences and those who react positively to negative consequences, but I think we miss out on how important it our reactions are to positive consequences.
Listen, great leaders get great results, but even more so great leaders react positively to ALL consequences, both negative and positive. I don’t mean happy or bubbly positive, I mean they react in a way that moves the team, the organization, and the culture forward in a positive way. This is where the great differentiate from the good.
So – back to the beginning, burden of knowledge, yada yada yada. Talking with my Dad tonight (friend/mentor/lifelong antagonist #2), I realized this, this little thought, was a way to find joy in the journey. My reactions, every single day, are something I control. My reactions, every single day, are something that can be contagious and have the potential to more us forward. How I react to every consequence, I control.
Tomorrow – I have the opportunity to be great. I have the opportunity to react to a nearly limitless number of consequences. Some I create, some I will not, but I get the opportunity nonetheless. Tomorrow, you will to.
What will be your reaction?
Joe Mullikin 