Leadership Isn't For Cowards: How to Drive Performance by Challenging People and Confronting Problems

Chapter 36

Can You Please Just Get On With It?

So, now what? You know what you want to do and you know what you are willing to do, so now it’s time to put the book down and get on with it. First, though, congratulations, and thank you for allowing me to accompany you on this exploratory journey through your leadership. Perhaps sometimes you found me encouraging and at other times challenging. At all times, I have tried to be respectful of what you do every day. You are a courageous person, simply because you are a leader. Getting in front of people and asking them to follow you takes a lot of courage, and you already have that. The rest is just about using that courage in new and exciting ways. You have read the book. Now the real journey begins.

Before you go, let me share the last trait of the courageous leader, one that will help you keep going when the path is steepest and roughest. This trait is persistence. Persistence means pressing forward, especially in the presence of resistance. In fact, when I think of courage, I think of it as Continuing Onward Under Rigorous And Grinding Experiences. Perhaps the most inspiring act leaders can exhibit is pushing through when the wind is in their face—standing boldly, staring down the naysayers, and charging the mountain.

While it is certain that you will fall and you will find yourself weary, it is equally certain that you will emerge victorious if you do not hesitate and do not quit. I assure you, the journey will be worth it. Your ...