REAL LEADERS Take 100 % Responsibility

One of the biggest things to understand, if you're going to be a leader, is that you must take responsbility for your results in life. One of my favorite quotes goes something like this, "You are where you are because of the sum total of your actions to this point in your life." That's tough advice, but in my experience it is totally true.

What I run into a lot are people who would like to lead, or people who think they are leading, or people who have lead in the past, who refuse to take responsibility for their situation. Maybe they missed a goal, or maybe they didn't do as well in their finances as they had planned, or maybe a business venture didn't go so well, or maybe they have messed up relationships, or maybe they have trouble at home, but the ONE THING they won't even CONSIDER as a possibility is that THEY ARE THE PROBLEM.

Contrast this condition with REAL LEADERS. Real leaders take stock of a situation, take a look at themselves, and as Jim Collins says, they confront the brutal reality as it really is. Then they TAKE RESPONSIBILITY themselves to make the changes necessary to move on and fix the situation.

I don't know why this is so rare. But what I have witnessed time and again are people who decide that their circumstances are to blame, or their mentor is to blame, or their spouse is to blame, or any number of things that safely keep THEM out of blame's way.

Want to become a leader? Want all the benefits of success, admiration, recognition, contribution in the lives of others, and everything else that comes from striving as a leader? Want respect from those who should be following you? Do you really want this? I hope you do. And I'll share a secret with you about how to accomplish it.

Are you ready?

Here it is.

The secret to becoming a leader and enjoying all the benefits that go along with it is:

LEAD

What?

You've got it.

LEAD.

You are not a leader if you are not leading. In my opinion, anyone who is daring to become a leader ought to wake up each morning and command themselves to do just that, to "LEAD."
This is silly. This is dumb. It seems so redundant. "Of course," you might say, "If I want to be a leader I've got to lead. Who wouldn't have THAT figured out already?" Well, believe it or not, hundreds, if not thousands of people.

People want all the trappings of leadership without accepting any of the responsibility. People want the success without the struggle. And they want the respect without the battle.
If you ever feel as though you are failing in your leadership journey, the solution is simple. Go out and lead. Get active. Take command. Begin performing right now, right where you are, with what you have. Take responsibility for your results and DO someting about it. Get off your couch. Throw away the excuses. Go out the door. Lead.

There is no faking it in leadership. You are either leading or you are not.

We all have a choice.

We can either lead, or we can try to explain why we are not.

By Chris Brady as posted on "Author Chris Brady's Leadership Blog" 1/12/08