Leaders instill courage in the hearts of those who follow. This rarely happens through words alone. It generally requires action. It goes back to what we said earlier: Somebody has to go first. By going first, the leader furnishes confidence to those who follow.

As a next generation leader, you will be called upon to go first. That will require courage. But in stepping out you will give the gift of courage to those who are watching.

What do I believe is impossible to do in my field, but if it could be done would fundamentally change my business?

What has been done is safe. But to attempt a solution to a problem that plagues an entire industry - in my case, the local church - requires courage.

Unsolved problems are gateways to the future. To those who have the courage to ask the question and the tenacity to hang on until they discover or create an answer belongs the future.

Don’t allow the many good opportunities to divert your attention from the one opportunity that has the greatest potential. Learn to say no. There will always be more opportunities than there is time to pursue them.

Leaders worth following are willing to face and embrace current reality regardless of how discouraging or embarrassing it might be.

It is impossible to generate sustained growth or progress if your plan for the future is not rooted in reality.

Be willing to face the truth regardless of how painful it might be. If fear causes you to retreat from your dreams, you will never give the world anything new.

it is impossible to lead without a dream. When leaders are no longer willing to dream, it is only a short time before followers are unwilling to follow.

Will I allow my fear to bind me to mediocrity?

Uncertainty is a permanent part of the leadership landscape. It never goes away.

Where there is no uncertainty, there is no longer the need for leadership. The greater the uncertainty, the greater the need for leadership. Your capacity as a leader will be determined by how well you learn to deal with uncertainty.

My enemy is not uncertainty. It is not even my responsibility to remove the uncertainty. It is my responsibility to bring clarity into the midst of the uncertainty.

As leaders we can afford to be uncertain, but we cannot afford to be unclear. People will follow you in spite of a few bad decisions. People will not follow you if you are unclear in your instruction. As a leader you must develop the elusive skill of leading confidently and purposefully onto uncertain terrain.

Next generation leaders must fear a lack of clarity more than a lack of accuracy. The individual in your organization who communicates the clearest vision will often be perceived as the leader. Clarity is perceived as leadership.

Uncertainty exposes a lack of knowledge. Pretending exposes a lack of character. Express your uncertainty with confidence.

You will never maximize your potential in any area without coaching. It is impossible.

Self-evaluation is helpful, but evaluation from someone else is essential. You need a leadership coach.

Great leaders are great learners. God, in His wisdom, has placed men and women around us with the experience and discernment we often lack.

Experience alone doesn’t make you better at anything. Evaluated experience is what enables you to improve your performance.

As a leader, what you don’t know can hurt you. What you don’t know about yourself can put a lid on your leadership. You owe it to yourself and to those who have chosen to follow you to open the doors to evaluation. Engage a coach.

Success doesn’t make anything of consequence easier. Success just raises the stakes. Success brings with it the unanticipated pressure of maintaining success. The more successful you are as a leader, the more difficult this becomes. There is far more pressure at the top of an organization than you might imagine.

Autore: Andy Stanley