We all have a Line. It’s buried beneath a heap of reputations, expectations, titles, and other “stuff,” but somewhere down there is the line of who we really are, what we truly know, and what we can absolutely do.
As a leader you must step up to the Line of Who You Are.
Why? Because when you don’t, you hurt the people around you.
We all know people who have stepped over their line. They’re out there pretending to be more than they really are – and if they’re leading you, often you have to deal with the consequences. Why are they like that? Fear. They’re afraid they aren’t enough. Ironically, most arrogance is the result of insecurity.
Most of us would never want to be thought of as arrogant. So we back off our line, keep our distance, establish a buffer zone. We hang out short of our line and consider ourselves humble. However, the extent that we shrink back from what we know we can offer is the extent to which we are cheating everyone around us. In truth, false humility is also motivated by fear – fear that we’ll fail, or worse, succeed.
As leaders we need to step up to our Line. This is true humility and it draws those around us up to their lines. That’s what extraordinary leaders do; they bring the best out those around them. Don’t get me wrong, the fear will still be there. It takes courage to step up to the Line of Who You Are – and if there’s one thing I know it’s this: people follow courage.
