Tackling the Impossible

I have written about leadership since 2011 and have spoken about leadership in many settings to different organizations. What I’m about to reveal in the next few paragraphs may be the most important message I have ever shared on leadership. 

Impactful leaders tackle the impossible and make the improbable happen. Sadly, leaders often merely manage an organization, and though they do a great job at that, it is just not enough. 

Look at everything you are juggling right now. As a leader, I’m sure you are busy. Your plate is full. Could you list the top 5, 10, or 15 things on your mind? Now, right next to each, indicate which of these seem impossible to you or to your people. These are the things that require your leadership: the impossible.

In the last five years, what has seemed impossible to you? And of those, which impossible things did you make happen? 

If all you are tackling and all you are accomplishing is within the realm of possibility, then you are not practicing bold leadership. We dull ourselves with work, with the size of our company, and with vision statements, and these are important, but if we desire to operate in the dimension of superb leadership, our real job is to demolish the walls standing in the way of progress. 

Conquering the impossible is the gold-standard for leadership. This kind of leadership is bigger than managing a company as you incrementally increase profits each year. Legendary leaders make huge turnarounds. They make disruptions. They make people stop and say with astonished delight: “Wait, they did what? They accomplished what? They increased the profit by how much? They did that for their customers?”

In the words of Seth Godin, “Don’t be boring.” I encourage you today to set your sights on what seems impossible and make the improbable happen. Make that the story of your leadership.


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