OVERCOME CHALLENGES
WHY IT MATTERS
Nothing worthwhile ever has or ever will come easy. There will always be unexpected challenges and problems when striving for success, despite the best-laid plans. Leaders know that leadership isn’t about surviving the times of peace and calm, it is about surviving the storms. Leaders who overcome challenges get results despite the hurdles they need to jump over. They ignore the naysayers who claim the obstacles in their path are too great to be overcome. They believe they can do what other people think can’t be done. Leaders who don’t overcome challenges, who let roadblocks divert their course or discourage their ambitions, will always come up short of accomplishing anything of real significance.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
Leaders who overcome challenges don’t expect to be given a free handout. They assume that success will take work. They accept that to reach their goals they will be stretched to give the very best they have. They expect roadblocks and pitfalls will stand in their way. They have the mental and emotional fortitude to never give up. They keep pushing forward until they reach the end.
Leaders that overcome challenges keep their inner emotions in check. No matter how discouraging things look on the outside, or how anxious they feel on the inside, they exude hope and optimism. They know other people look to them and that their attitude means as much to their success and that of their people as any action they take.
Leaders that overcome challenges are on the lookout for challenges. They know it is better to spot a challenge in its infancy than to be surprised by it once it has grown. They keep their eyes open to see what could go wrong, get in the way, or cause delays. They are constantly in the process of anticipating what problems could come.
Leaders that overcome challenges are sure they know the real root causes of the challenges they face before jumping to solutions. They look beyond the obvious, see connections, and ensure they focus where it matters. Instead of jumping on the first solution they find they look until they find the best solution to meet the need.
Leaders that overcome challenges believe they can overcome any challenge if the right people are brought together. They don’t tackle challenges by themselves. As soon as a challenge is identified they gather together the best minds to focus on finding a solution. They are willing to trust others to find the resolution to a problem.
Leaders that overcome challenges make the decision to never give up. They approach every challenge with personal tenacity. They refuse to back down or stop trying. They are at their very best when things are their hardest. Because they thrive on overcoming challenges, they persevere when others surrender and survive where others fail.
Leaders that overcome challenges are able to prioritize their investment of time. Instead of reacting to every problem that presents itself, they are selective in identifying which challenges to take on with full force, which to give less investment, and which they are better off ignoring to let take care of themselves.
BELIEFS
BEST PRACTICES
SELF-REFLECTION
WORDS OF CAUTION
Nothing worthwhile ever has or ever will come easy. There will always be unexpected challenges and problems when striving for success, despite the best-laid plans. Leaders know that leadership isn’t about surviving the times of peace and calm, it is about surviving the storms. Leaders who overcome challenges get results despite the hurdles they need to jump over. They ignore the naysayers who claim the obstacles in their path are too great to be overcome. They believe they can do what other people think can’t be done. Leaders who don’t overcome challenges, who let roadblocks divert their course or discourage their ambitions, will always come up short of accomplishing anything of real significance.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
Leaders who overcome challenges don’t expect to be given a free handout. They assume that success will take work. They accept that to reach their goals they will be stretched to give the very best they have. They expect roadblocks and pitfalls will stand in their way. They have the mental and emotional fortitude to never give up. They keep pushing forward until they reach the end.
Leaders that overcome challenges keep their inner emotions in check. No matter how discouraging things look on the outside, or how anxious they feel on the inside, they exude hope and optimism. They know other people look to them and that their attitude means as much to their success and that of their people as any action they take.
Leaders that overcome challenges are on the lookout for challenges. They know it is better to spot a challenge in its infancy than to be surprised by it once it has grown. They keep their eyes open to see what could go wrong, get in the way, or cause delays. They are constantly in the process of anticipating what problems could come.
Leaders that overcome challenges are sure they know the real root causes of the challenges they face before jumping to solutions. They look beyond the obvious, see connections, and ensure they focus where it matters. Instead of jumping on the first solution they find they look until they find the best solution to meet the need.
Leaders that overcome challenges believe they can overcome any challenge if the right people are brought together. They don’t tackle challenges by themselves. As soon as a challenge is identified they gather together the best minds to focus on finding a solution. They are willing to trust others to find the resolution to a problem.
Leaders that overcome challenges make the decision to never give up. They approach every challenge with personal tenacity. They refuse to back down or stop trying. They are at their very best when things are their hardest. Because they thrive on overcoming challenges, they persevere when others surrender and survive where others fail.
Leaders that overcome challenges are able to prioritize their investment of time. Instead of reacting to every problem that presents itself, they are selective in identifying which challenges to take on with full force, which to give less investment, and which they are better off ignoring to let take care of themselves.
BELIEFS
- If you look hard enough and try hard enough you can almost always find a way to overcome any challenge you face.
- The keys to overcoming any challenge, no matter how big or small, are persistence, patience, resilience, and effort.
- When you face a challenge, the only way to assure you will fail is to decide to give up.
- Even if things are tough you have to just keep going, keep trying, and trust things will work out.
- Don’t ever tackle hard challenges without recruiting the best and the brightest to help you. There is strength in numbers.
- Today will always be a better day to do hard things than tomorrow will be. Don’t procrastinate doing what is hard.
- Don’t start solving a problem until you are confident that you have identified its root cause, or you might solve the wrong problem.
- Overcoming a tough challenge is as much about your attitude as it is your actions.
BEST PRACTICES
- Stay positive and optimistic.
- Look for challenges to solve and overcome.
- Trust you can overcome anything.
- Gather the right expertise to help you.
- Do not give up if success doesn’t come easily.
- Prioritize the challenges you need to solve.
- Identify the root cause of the problem.
- Get energized by tough situations.
- Take challenges head on, without delay.
- See challenges through to completion.
- Do not waste time worrying.
- Don’t ever get discouraged.
- Believe you can do what others can’t do.
- Ensure solutions tackle the core of the issue.
- Trust others to be part of the solution.
- Be decisive and quick to move to action.
- Do not minimize the challenges you face.
- Look for answers beyond the obvious.
- See challenges from their broad perspective.
- Be relentless in your search for answers.
- Use every resource available to you.
- See challenges clearly for what they are.
SELF-REFLECTION
- Do I expect to be stretched to my very limits, or do I hope that success will come smoothly?
- Do I give up when things get hard, or do I show the fortitude to keep pushing forward despite challenges?
- Do I portray calm amidst storms and challenges, or do I allow myself to get anxious and fearful?
- Do I exude hope and optimism when the going gets tough, or do I portray despair and discouragement?
- Do I look for challenges to solve while they are in their infancy, or do I wait too long to take them on?
- Do I stay on the lookout for what challenges could be around the corner, or do I fail to anticipate challenges?
- Do I keep going until I find a solution, or do I give up when solutions don’t readily present themselves?
- Do I rally others around me to solve challenges, or do I try and solve challenges by myself?
WORDS OF CAUTION
- Don’t be so confident you can overcome challenges that you stay and fight a challenge when you should walk away.
- Don’t allow the need to overcome a challenge make you do things that are dishonest or unethical just to win.
- Don’t take on a challenge just to take it on when it really may not be worth the time and energy.
- I can stay positive even when everything seems to be going wrong.
- There is a solution to every problem.
- I do my best work when the pressure is on.
- I am known for being the person who can fix any problem that arises.
- I don’t beat myself up when I make a mistake.