As leaders, we are constantly called upon to make decisions after decisions. When the manufacturing line stops, and the team is 45mins from making the shipping cutoff, it's up to us leaders to make the "right" call to resume production in the highest Quality manner.
The hardest part of being a leader doesn't lie within the tactical decisions but rather on the strategic ones. What should the organization look like in 5-10 years? What initiatives need to be plotted on the next agenda platform and executed on? What skills and competencies should the workforce hold in their back pocket? Where do I stand in the middle of it all?
The last one and maybe even the most important, is rarely pondered upon.
Last week, I took a four day weekend and was quasi-detached from work. In that time, I was able to reflect not only on my past but future. (Quasi meaning only a few texts to my right hand man at work and a few emails to some counterparts.
Took the I-17 north out of Phoenix, through a windy curvy mountain trail, I ended up in Jerome, AZ. The red mountains and smell of fresh pine trees got me thinking. What's my story? Every leader has a story so, what do I want mine to be?
This isn't the post you're looking for if you need the final answer or the solution to your problems. The message I want to send is how we continue to make decision after decision that lead to actions, sometimes memorable. So, at the end of it all- what will be the story we tell?
Fortunately, I am at a point in my career where the chapters are currently written with a dry erase marker but it'll soon migrate to permanent.
The clock is ticking. The fork in the road is approaching. So what decision will I make next? And what will be engraved in stone from it?
Differentiate? Or conform? Although it may sound simple, one final destination could be miles from the other.
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