Why True Leaders R.I.S.E. to the Mission

Leaders, 

We’ve heard it said that “Membership has its privileges”.  Well, in some cases this is true, maybe not all. We’ve also heard it said that “Leadership comes with a cost such as making difficult decisions that negatively affect others, being misunderstood, and sacrificing personal desires for the good of the group. The “cost” is a willingness to endure loneliness, exhaustion, and a loss of personal agendas for the sake of the team’s mission. Well, I would contend in all cases this is definitely true!  

If you study leadership over the years and if you read about some of the greatest leaders in our history, they were chosen and in some cases even thrust into leadership situations where they had to “sink or swim.”  This is part of leadership.  It comes with responsibility, oversight, accountability, and the power to choose the mission.  

I personally believe there is leadership potential in every individual.  I believe we are all leading someone, even if that someone is just ourselves.  As I look back over the years and evaluate the times I’ve been either “thrust” into a leadership challenge or maybe even chose that challenge, I can see that in every situation, there’s a choice.  

The choice is simple.  In true Mission Impossible style, “Will you accept the mission?”  Will you RISE to the challenge.  I expound on this concept further in my book which is coming out soon.  And a point I want to drive home here is that even if you don’t chose every mission, it doesn’t mean you're not a leader. It could simply mean, that wasn’t the mission for you.  

Leaders R.I.S.E.

God bless and lead well! 

Jeff Collum, Ed.D.