Great leadership is selflessness.
It is more than the ability to "get over one's self;" it is the power to prioritize others.
Great leaders do not always have to be right; they regard the inclusion of diverse opinions as a means to get to an answer better than their own. Great leaders do not bask in their own praise; instead, they consistently raise others up. Great leaders do not over-protect themselves; they are very protective of those they get the opportunity to work with.
The result of this: great work and great results.
The result can also be this: great leaders can also burn out. As with everything in life in which we need to make discerning decisions, we need to understand the distinction between selflessness and not taking care of one's self.
Great leaders who are selfless can easily over-index in worry, or take on everyone's burden or try to do all of the work themselves. The result is that they diminish their effectiveness to the entire team and they do themselves a disservice.
Taking care of one's self - understanding one's limits - knowing that one person cannot solve the world's ills - are all antidotes to "overdoing it" and consequently burning out.
To understand that we are not always going to have the correct answer, that we cannot make everything right (no matter how much we want to), that while we do our best for each individual that we cannot save everyone - this is the reality that goes with selflessness.
To be really good - we need to take care of ourselves. That means we are then enabled to take of our teams - selflessly - and that's really great.
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My book "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available on Amazon Kindle.
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