Leadership is a privilege and comes with privileges.
This seems reasonably self-evident, but as with all great privileges, there is great responsibility. In whatever part of your life that you might have the privilege of being a leader, as I almost always talk about here, when we talk about leadership, that could be parenting, being a partner, running a sports team, volunteering in an organisation or being the CEO of a billion-dollar business.
There is a tension that exists between the privilege of leadership and the need to get the work done.
As you pass up the tree in whatever aspect of leadership you are in, you get more and more of an opportunity to choose the work that you do instead of having the work that you do directed towards you. This is where the challenge begins, this is where the paradox exists.
We are coded to do the work that we want, not the work that we have to do, and so we must develop a degree of ‘leadership stamina’, which allows us to complete the work that is necessary, not just the work that is enjoyable or satisfying or fulfilling.
Many years ago, there was a huge cultural shift around ‘do the job you love or love the job you do’. That was all well and good, but for all of us in any job, but more particularly as we are lucky enough to get higher up the tree. It's us who have to decide to do the work that needs to be done, because no one else will tell us to do it.
It's us who have to develop the stamina to carry out the tasks that we would rather not carry out, so that we can, in fact, realise the potential of the leadership opportunity that we have been given.
Blog Post Number - 4402
Colin Campbell, Chris Barrow, and an intrepid group of dentists will be cycling across the plains of Tanzania from Kilimanjaro in early February 2026. If you would like to support the charity, Bridge to Aid, and this extraordinary challenge, please click here.
Thank you for your generosity.
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