During the SEC Media Day, Coach Kirby Smart discussed “The Cost of Leadership,” and stated that “If we truly want to be honest and upfront about leadership, you can’t ignore the cost of leadership.” Coach Smart went on to outline his three costs of leadership that he’s experience in leading a college football team. At every level of leadership, significant challenges develop. Here are five challenges of leading from the front:
- The Path is Lonely: The first cost of leadership is that it’s a lonely job for those who have experienced it. While most leaders have friends, family, and mentors, the leadership journey in the organization is often very lonely. Few, if any, people in the organization are friends with the leader as that just isn’t the nature of being in a leadership position. Due to the lonely path, it’s critical that leaders have outside mentors and friends that understand their reality.
- Leadership is Everyday: The second cost of leadership is that it’s an everyday endeavor. Most leaders are on-call 24/7 in their positions. Even when they’re on vacation or on the weekends, they’re the contact if anything isn’t going well or there’s an emergency. While this on-call mindset isn’t necessarily appropriate, it’s the reality for leadership. Leaders need to find some ways to disconnect from their jobs in order to rejuvenate.
- There are Consequences: The third cost of leadership is that there are significant consequences. Even though most leaders attempt to make the right decisions for everyone, there’s always going to be people that are unhappy. In significantly larger leadership positions, every interaction and decision has a ripple effect that impacts hundreds, thousands, or millions of people. Leaders must have a way to manage the emotions that come with significant consequences.
- Few People Understand: The fourth cost of leadership is that 99% of the population does not understand the position. Most people have never been in a leadership position or managed people in any capacity. Although many people act like they know how to do a leader’s job, those people are often the people who make the most noise. Even as the CEO of a company or a head coach, Vice Presidents and assistant coaches still cannot understand the position. It’s important for leaders to have at least one mentor to talk through the challenges.
- It Requires Risks: The fifth cost of leadership is that excellent leadership requires significant risk taking. Some of those risks will be the accumulation of smaller risks and others will be large, significant chances. Either way, nearly every day requires taking a risk of some sort. Most people are not accustomed to taking risks in any area of their lives. Leaders must be comfortable taking risks that sometimes allow for big wins, but also big losses.
Highly-effective leadership comes with significant costs and sacrifices that few other people will understand. Leaders are tasked with understanding the costs and working relentlessly to do their best despite those challenges. The leaders who can manage risks, organize the everyday challenges, and accept the loneliness of the job will find success in the end.
How do you manage the true costs and sacrifices of leadership?