Leading with determination

As the United States presidential election comes into full swing after the two major conventions, voters will consider which candidate will best serve as the nation’s leader. This decision is not an easy one, as both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have some of the worst favorable ratings in history. Ideally, voters should think about the character traits of candidates, but most will prioritize self-interest and vote based on their pockets.

Media experts will analyze each insignificant point as if it were … well, significant. But in the face of global terrorism and financial uncertainty, what character trait really sets apart a successful leader? Problems will arise. Trouble will come, and leaders with intrinsic drive will have the best chance of overcoming obstacles and external factors in their environment. This article examines the concept of determination for leaders trapped in today’s chaotic world.

Effective leaders have a special quality called “guts,” which refers to a drive to overcome all kinds of obstacles. People define value in several ways: according to Gostrengths.com, value is “a personality trait possessed by people who demonstrate passion and perseverance toward a goal despite facing significant obstacles and distractions. “Along the same lines, blogger AJ Julian wrote an article on determination in education in which he shared an outstanding acronym: GRAMuts, RResilience, Integrity, Tin capacity.

Although the concept may seem elusive, researchers have found ways to explore the usefulness of sand. Psychologist Angela Duckworth studied the concept of bravery and found that brave people outperform their peers who demonstrate more intelligence or aptitude. Adam Grant, author of Give and take, study the performance of the “givers”. Grant notes that donors focus on the needs of others, while recipients are more concerned with their own personal needs.

Among the character traits of successful donors, Grant explains that value is a key separator in performance: “Of course, natural talent also matters, but once you have a pool of candidates above the threshold of necessary potential, value is an important factor that predicts how close you will be to your potential. ” Therefore, determination is a good quality to have as a leader.

The value of determination is clearer in sports. By reviewing the life of American athletic star Jesse Owens, we can better understand how courage can make a leader effective. In 1936, Owens won four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics, broke the record for the long jump, and smashed Hitler’s superiority propaganda.

Some people may conclude that Owens was a one-hit wonder, as his success was limited after the games. Born in 1913, the son of a sharecropper and the grandson of slaves, Owens grew up in Alabama, where blacks were treated poorly. At the age of seven, he was lifting 100 pounds of cotton a day to help his family. That work ethic was expected of him.

As a child, Owens was also plagued with disease and battled chronic bronchial congestion and pneumonia; however, despite these setbacks, he was a talented athlete. When his family moved to Ohio, he worked hard to achieve his goals and was noted for his athletic talent on the track and broke records in middle and high school.

After graduating from high school, Owens enrolled at Ohio State University. However, he was denied a scholarship and had to work in order to attend school. As a black athlete, he also continually endured discrimination, including being unable to eat with fellow athletes. He also overcame a serious tailbone injury. Despite this, Owens’ college career included winning four events at the NCAA Championships, two events at the AAU Championships, and three more at the Olympic trials. Overall, Owens competed in 42 events that year and won them all.

At the 1936 Olympics, Adolph Hitler and the Nazis wanted to show Aryan supremacy. In fact, Hitler mocked the United States for including black athletes on its Olympic roster. Owens dominated the competition, capturing four gold medals (the 100-meter, the long jump, the 200-meter and the 400-meter relay), and breaking two Olympic records along the way. Owens’ leadership and courage helped the United States win 11 gold medals, six of them from black athletes. The same kind of determination can work today to make leaders more effective.

When nurturing great leaders, the character trait of courage should be nurtured in those who have value and developed in those who do not. Today, most organizations do not want to spend money or time developing good leaders; As a result, only those who naturally understand the importance of determination and know how to put this trait into practice can bring enormous benefits to their organization.

However, strength of character is essential for leadership. Dr. Richard Daft, renowned leadership guru and author of Leadership, identifies the importance of character for leaders. To top it off, megachurch pastor John Ortberg agrees: “Over time, determination is what separates fruitful lives from goallessness.”

Can you afford to lead your organization into the future without real value? Businesses are wavering, surrounded by ongoing global threats. Many organizations become conservative and fearful in the face of uncertainty and high risk. This article demonstrated how the characteristic of determination can help leaders overcome the challenges of this chaotic business climate. Like Owens, leaders must have the internal drive to propel them past today’s problems, and determination, not just within leaders, but also within an organization’s culture, can drive sustainable performance. Pray that it is not too late for courage!

© 2016 by Daryl D. Green

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