How Your Success as a Leader Will Be Determined

“Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage.” ~ William Ellery Channing


Ultimately, your success as a leader will be largely determined by how well you maintain your balance in the face of short-term difficulties and disappointments.

Leaders do not give up easily or remain discouraged. Their long-range goals help insulate them from the frustration and disappointment of short-term setbacks. Tenacity and resilience are high values with the best leaders. They may give out, now and then, but they never give up.

In turbulent times, it’s easy to identify the leader. He or she is the calm in the eye of the storm. While others are losing their heads, the leaders are keeping theirs. By remaining calm and refusing to acknowledge failure, leaders are able to push forward, resolve the problems and eventually find successful courses of action.

Related: Integrity Is the Alignment of These Three Things

Decide that you will treat all setbacks as temporary and bounce back quickly from mistakes or failures.


Remember: It’s not what happens to you, but how you handle it that counts. It’s not how far you fall, but how high you bounce that makes the difference for you and your team.