Great expectations

How do we lead when people expect great things of us? Sometimes I feel a pressure to be something more, something superhuman. I could probably argue that this feeling is self-inflicted and that I need to change my perspective on the matter. But what if there is some truth to this claim? I used to speak to my peers about the responsibility that we have to improve the lives of those around us. Whether it is a simple smile or a 2 minute conversation with a dining services worker at D-hall, these people come to expect things of us and we mustn’t let them down. When I was an undergrad there was this concept of “always being on”. This idea means that we are always putting our best foot forward and creating positivity wherever we work. This is a ton of pressure and unrealistic. This is what leads people to burnout. It is easy to say that we should all be fiving 100% at all times but it is not realistic. We have to train our bodies and minds to operate at such a high efficiency create for long periods of time. I truly believe that it is possible to give 100% all of the time but it takes a commitment to the idea and a degree of training and discipline to get there.

I used to speak to a friend of mine, John Falkey, about the concept of living perfectly. We, as a society, are so quick to make excuses for when things go wrong that we do not put forth our best effort to see that we consistently make all of the right decisions throughout our lives. Now I’m not naïve and I do recognize the reality of what actually happens and I am not suggesting that I am perfect by any means. However, I do believe that it is possible to live perfectly. This belief mostly stems from the concept that we all have different ideas of “perfection”. The perfect day for me will look much different when compared against someone else’s. While I view this pursuit of perfection to be attainable, I see the dangers and have experienced the disappointment that comes with failure.

I think that everyone beats themselves up when something doesn’t go well. For some people, they beat themselves up so badly that they shut down and spiral into negativity. On the other hand, you have people that experience challenge and walk away with powerful life lessons. Fight or flight? Maybe. I think that this disparity also clues us into an element of leadership that is incredibly powerful that is often times overlooked. Leaders are the people who answer the call when nobody else will. The type of people who pick up the reins when the group needs direction. Are you the type of person that runs to high pressure situations or that runs from them? I don’t think that this is the only barometer for leadership but is a big one nonetheless.

I welcome the pressures that come along with leadership and find myself pushed to greatness when I feel this pressure. There is nothing more motivating that knowing that people are depending upon you. This may be a little extreme but let’s think about it for a minute. If I lead a team of full time employees, I am arguable responsible for the way they spend 40 hours of their week, every week, over the course of a calendar year. That is a lot of pressure. I need to make sure that these people are taken care of or else they aren’t going to follow my directives or buy in when I want to do something. Instead of viewing this as an ulterior motive, I like to think of it as an “all for one, one for all” mentality. Everybody is taken care of when we take care of everyone around us. Seems pretty simple but is rarely implemented. In a number of company cultures you have employees that are only concerned with a paycheck. They say they don’t care about what people think of them or how effective they are in their work, but I believe that everybody wants to be a part of something more. Like I mentioned above, there is a pressure that comes along with responsibility. When you open yourself up to a team of people, you are taking on the pressures of the successes and failures that go along with that team. High stakes and real life implications are the most powerful tools that get our hearts pumping and our minds running.