The third thing I listed in “5 things that will hold you back” is personal plateau. This can happen out of fatigue or burnout. The problem with this is that when we hit this plateau we are no longer able to lead people any further than that point. If the people you lead stop growing they will seek something or someone who will help them grow.

Leadership is an always-moving train and when you jump off at a certain point you are left behind. The train keeps going and you stay put.

One of the first things I heard about leadership is “you can’t lead people somewhere you have never been”. At first I didn’t agree with this statement. I thought “couldn’t a leader take people farther than themselves just by encouragement and motivation? Or maybe get to a higher place with them, like at the same time?” I quickly realized that this does not work. What helped me understand this idea was this analogy:

Say you were leading a group of people on a hike to the top of a mountain. If you go before hand and make the hike yourself, you will know what to expect and begin preparing your people accordingly. You can map out any dangers and even make notes of beautiful things you want them to see. If you didn’t make the hike ahead of time and just went for the first time with everyone else, your ability to lead would be greatly compromised because you would be experiencing everything for the first time also. At the bottom of the mountain you could look up and see the peak. It may be tempting to say, “I can see the destination right there, let’s go!” Forgetting that there is space and time between where you are and the destination.

Leaders can usually see the destination, its called vision it’s what motivates us. The difficult part is the time in-between and having to make the trip twice. Once on our own, then again as a leader.