If you are old enough, you know who made this phrase famous. I can hear Elvis singing “Tomorrow will be too late...it's now or never...”. Elvis was so good at what he did, he only needed a first name to be memorialized forever.
As a Leader, we will also be remembered, for our Decisions, both good and poor. But have you ever been with a Leader who just can not make a decision? I wrote earlier of Life Is Full Of Choices...make one. We learned “Rare Leaders™ must be Decisive”. In my message Freedom Lies In Being Bold, I suggested “failure in Decision making is sometimes a Bold tool”.
As Leaders, the opportunity to make Decisions is present at every moment. We occasionally make Decisions quickly, or sometimes we have days to prepare. Some Decisions are obvious, and some leave us with anxiety similar to buyers remorse. We have made Decisions showering us with praise, and we have unfortunately made Decisions darkening us with blame. We find the loneliness of Decision making is not for the meek.
In his short story “Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner”, Alan Sillitoe describes a young boy who uses running as a method of both an emotional and a physical escape from the bleak prospects and few interests of his personal life. It was Sillitoe’s intention from the start to make Colin Smith deliberately lose the race. If he had won the race, he wouldn’t have been half the man he was. He had to lose. He had to fail, in order to win.
Carrying the burden of making Decisions is heavy, especially when you carry the lives, and futures of so many people with you. In this way, great Leaders carry a tremendous responsibility to others in their Decisions. How do you find a healthy emotional and physical escape from the responsibility of your deliberate Decisions? Because, looking back on your actions, you must have no regrets.
You are a leader. To be a Rare Leader™, you must make deliberate Decisions, without regret, every day, every minute, with every breath you take. That’s what Rare Leaders™ do.
- Who makes Decisions without Regret?
- What is your healthy escape from making Decisions?
- Where do you see Decisions not being made?
- When will you make deliberate Decisions?
- How will your Decisions impact others?
If you want to learn more about the Rare Leader™ in you,
or if you are interested in retaining Steve as your Executive Coach,
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