Leaders Need To Face Resistance

Leading can be a struggle when someone is openly resisting you. Be it a team member, friend, or loved one, resistance feels like it is hurting us.

You may feel challenged or not believed. Or it might be the vision you presented to your organization is put to the test. Or maybe you entered into an agreement and now the agreement is in question.

Wing of an airplane during a flight

Photo by Ross Parmly

Resistance comes in many shapes and sizes. None of them are easy to deal with.

Yet, I believe, resistance is critical to the success of great leaders.

Why Leaders Need To Face Resistance

Have you ever flown in an airplane? I hadn’t until my honeymoon over 14 years ago. Since then, I’ve experienced flight many times.

One thing that always sticks out to me is the way a plane takes off. You hear the roar of the engines. You feel the plane begin to roll forward. Then you sense the resistance the plane faces just before the wheels leave the ground.

Are You Watching Your Attitude Indicator?

If you have ever seen the inside of an airplane cockpit, you know that there is an instrument panel.

The instrument panel contains many different gauges and switches. One of these is the Attitude Indicator.

Image Courtesy of Dylan Ashe

You may be asking “What purpose does an attitude indicator serve?”

The main purpose of the attitude indicator is to tell the pilot the orientation of the airplane relative to earth. Whether the nose is up or the nose is down.

This is important knowledge to have because it affects the performance of the airplane.

If the nose is up, the plane slows and starts to ascend. Nose down and the plane increases in speed and descends.

Could you imagine what would happen if the pilot did not know whether the nose was up or down?

Just like the airplane, YOU need to have an attitude indicator.

Change is like leaping out of an airplane

Today, I am writing as a contributor to the Christian Writers Blog Chain. The theme for February is “Leap.” If you are a Christian author or writer, be sure to check out Christianwriters.com to network with others.
 
It recently hit me that change is a lot like skydiving. Yeah, skydiving.
 
You are probably asking yourself “Skydiving? What can skydiving teach me about change?”
 
After my first skydive in 2011, I can say it can teach you quite a bit.
 


 
Imagine taking a plane ride. You are in a tiny Cessna airplane. It fits three people comfortably, if you are lucky. This trip, there are five people in the plane. A pilot, two instructors, another person, and yourself.
 
As you take off the plane is loud. Rolling on the runway it is bumpy and rough. You wonder if the plane will be able to lift into the air.
 
It does and you start circling. Up and up you go. The ground below grows further away.
 
Twenty minutes into the flight you are 11,000 feet into the air.
 
The plane is now warm, almost unbearably so. All of a sudden one of the instructors reaches over and opens the door to the plane.
 
Air rushes in, quickly cooling the plane. It creates noise, it sounds like you are in the eye of a hurricane.
 
You and your instructor (who is attached to your back) scoot towards the open door.
 
Now you have a decision to make. Do you leap or do you stay in the plane?
 
I chose to leap. I did not regret it.
 
Whether it be skydiving or change, I think you should take the leap.
 
Here is what I learned from taking that leap