This New Leadership Motto Is Helping Me Crush Anxiety

If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. 

Have you ever uttered the above phrase? You were probably frustrated when you said it, huh? You certainly never say it when everyone is doing things correctly. But when someone drops the ball, that over used colloquialism is always there; ready to reassure you that if only you hadn't relied on anyone else things would have turned out much better. I've been there. I am there.

There are some days where I find myself pounding my head on my desk as volunteer after volunteer bails on Sunday services. It's especially stressful when I'm also staring down a task list a mile long. As my anxiety builds, I find myself thinking things like I just have to stop worrying and get all of this done. Then I look at my list and try to strategizing how I'm going to accomplish everything on my own. Then I grit my teeth, and bang it out. Manly right? No, not manly. Stupid.

When I get anxious, wise thinking goes out the window. Behind the faux macho self reliance is the thought that if I don't get it all done by myself, it's going to prove that I'm worthless. At that point, I've completely forgotten that my job, as a leader, is to get things done through other people.

Leader, you have the coolest job in the world. You empower people by giving them chances to succeed and fail! You're a potential specialist. There's huge privilege. But it can be easy to be overtaken by stress and lose sight of the amazingness of your job. But that's where I think I can help. I have a new leadership motto that I use daily to help me remember what being a leader is all about. When I'm staring down a paralyzing task list, and the anxiety begins to build, I tell myself this:

If I end up doing all of this myself, I've failed as a leader.

It occurs to me that this motto is framed negatively.  Typically, I like to look at things from more of a positive perspective because, let's face it, positive people accomplish more than negative people do. But for some reason, when I feel overwhelmed by my responsibilities, this phrase is the perfect nudge to get me thinking about what I can delegate and who I can delegate it to. It helps me remember that it's not my job to get everything done perfectly. It my job to get things done through other people. It frees me up to think about what items on my list I can give away. Then, before I know it, I'm out of anxiety, and into the privilege that comes with empowering other people on my team.

Here's my question for you: What quotes or mottoes have you read lately that have inspired/impacted you?

Photo courtesy of Elvert Barnes at Flickr.com