Obstacles will always be with us! To achieve any idea, each goal, every plan, and ALL dreams – you will find challenges lurking or screaming in your face. If we wish or expect to live our lives without them, we will be disappointed. The moment we recognise them and accept this fact we will be happier and more content. This morning, I went for a run. It was the first after many days, because of various reasons (one of which, my own laziness). As I was running, my mind rushed ahead on the route I was taking, constantly looking for easier options, saving my energy. Then it dawned on me that regardless of the route I chose, obstacles were in my way. I could stay on the hard sand for longer and face a shorter route up the steep dune, or I could take a gradual incline up the dune leaving the hard sand sooner. I could run through the estate on the tar road avoiding the loose sand, but that would be several hundreds of meters further, including a slightly less steep, twice as long uphill, AND it lacked the beauty of the route I planned. No option or choice will ever be only good, and fortunately not all bad either. It was my choice which obstacle I wanted to face.
Every successful person will rush to correct the assumption that their path was plain sailing. There would always have been risky crossroads, wrong turns, and many challenges they all had to face somewhere on their way to the peak. And standing on the peak will not be without strong winds and many risks just to stay up there. Reaching a higher peak always meant embarking down the mountain into a valley, on your way to a new high.
In the 1970s, a young engineer at General Motors (GM), was tasked with inspecting a manufacturing plant. She noticed a worker using a makeshift tool to perform a task, which indicated a design flaw. Determined to have the flaw corrected, she reported this to her superiors, but they dismissed her concerns. Undeterred by this she engaged with the worker, working alongside him, to understand the problem and the makeshift solution. Together they and everyone else involved came up with a newly designed solution that top management could not ignore. The name of the engineer is Mary Barra, the current CEO of General Motor Corporation.
Today Barra’s leadership style emphasizes collaboration, innovation, and customer-centricity. Her early experiences taught her:
- The value of courage to challenge the status quo.
- The need and the value of listening to your company’s frontline workers to understand the obstacles they are facing daily. Obstacles top management is often not aware of, and
- The need and value of hands-on leadership.
Obstacles are a fact of life for anyone at any level of the organisation, and every member of your family. Besides leading by example and not ignoring, or even worse, avoiding obstacles, we need to show empathy and understanding to those we lead, moving over, under, and through the challenges in our way.
This morning as I struggled up the steep dune, I chose to focus beyond the obstacle. I started thinking about possible solutions to the challenges in my way. I reflected on past mistakes and wrong decisions, and I realised how much stronger I was for not giving up. In society today many efforts are aimed at removing obstacles for good. I am not saying that we shouldn’t be innovative and find better ways to do things more effectively, but when it comes to life, relationships, and our health (emotionally, spiritually, and physically), there are no shortcuts. Efforts to avoid hard work lead to weakened minds, bodies, souls, and relationships. Get up, man up, and face your giants – you will be better and stronger for it.
Love
Stefan Lessing