Why you need to DO THE WORK that NOBODY sees.

As leaders, we spend a lot of time working on ourselves. We try leveraging our Strengths to help others leverage theirs to push the mission of our organizations forward.

We do that through professional coaching, therapy, books, podcasts, or other resources to help us grow. Yet, often it can feel like all of that hard work isn’t making much of a noticeable difference to those we are leading. This lack of recognition or visible change can leave us frustrated or perhaps wanting to give up. 

But we must do the unseen, internal work!

Recently, we had our home’s chimney replaced. Unfortunately, the 90+-year-old chimney was falling apart and, if left unfixed, could lead to water damage, fire damage, or falling bricks. None of those are good outcomes, so we paid a chimney company to build us a beautiful new chimney!

At least I thought it was beautiful, but nobody else seemed to notice. Not our neighbors, friends, or even my wife could barely tell anything was different. 

As I reflected on this frustration, I thought about this internal work we’re all trying to do. We know we need to do it, but it can feel pointless at times without any external markers of progress.

Today on the podcast, Brian, Linda, and I offer some encouragement as we discuss how even though all of the work we do on ourselves can often go unseen by most people, we still need to pursue growth. For a variety of reasons we discuss, the time, money, and energy we put into these things are well worth it in the long run.

Enjoy!