Brace yourselves for this one, folks. As I was rereading what I had written, I realized this one might feel like a swift kick in the pants versus a nice warm cup of tea. It’s a tad spicy; however, you know I write about what I speak about, so this one must have been a result of a few of my conversations this week. Take what applies, share the rest.
Most of us (myself included) aren’t held back by lack of resources, bad timing, or difficult circumstances. We’re held back by our own excuses.
Have you said or heard these sentences lately:
- “My team isn’t ready yet.”
- “The market conditions aren’t right.”
- “I don’t have the budget I need.”
- “Leadership hasn’t given me the authority.”
UGH…..talk about brandishing a shield! And every day we hold it up is another day we’re choosing comfort over our own growth.
Think about the last major initiative that stalled on your watch. Did it really fail because of external factors? Or did you hesitate, hedge, and hope someone else would make the call for you?
The manager who says “my team can’t handle this” instead of “I haven’t developed my team yet.”
The director who blames “unclear priorities from above” instead of seeking clarity or making a recommendation.
The VP who points to “lack of executive support” instead of building a compelling business case that’s impossible to ignore.
The coach who says she “has no time to write her book” instead of time-blocking her calendar and shifting her client sessions.
Notice the pattern? Every excuse is a responsibility in disguise. It’s the fear of failing that prevents us from acting on these responsibilities. And it’s this fear that is keeping us small.
When we avoid the tough conversation with our underperformer, we’re not being kind. We’re failing our high performers who carry the extra weight of the underperformer. We’re failing our customers who receive inconsistent results. We’re failing the underperformer who never gets the feedback they need to improve.
When we wait for perfect certainty before making a decision, we’re not being thorough; we’re abdicating leadership. Someone else will make that decision. It will be our competitor, our peer, or eventually our boss, and then we’ll be left executing someone else’s vision, rebuilding trust with our team, or reading someone else’s book.
When we sandbag our forecast or under-promise on goals and deliverables to avoid missing targets, we’re not being strategic. We’re training our organizations, teams, and ourselves to play small.
Acting on responsibility isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being accountable.
And that looks like the leader who says, “This project failed. I chose the wrong approach. Here’s what I learned and here’s what we’re doing differently.”
It looks like the executive who stops waiting for permission and starts making recommendations: “Here’s the decision I think we should make, here’s why, and I’m prepared to own the outcome.”
It looks like the manager who tackles the hard problem everyone’s avoiding: “This issue impacts three departments, and no one wants to touch it. I’ll lead the solution.”
These examples don’t illustrate fearlessness; they illustrate being more afraid of regret than failure.
Right now, you may have a decision you’re avoiding.
A conversation you need to have.
An initiative you need to champion.
A standard you need to raise.
What’s your excuse for not doing it?
Is that excuse serving you, or is it protecting you from the discomfort of real leadership?
Pick one area this week where you’ve been making excuses. And instead of explaining why it can’t be done, take full responsibility for making it happen.
Own the outcome before you know what it will be. Stop waiting for ideal conditions. Stop blaming the obstacles.
Successful people take responsibility for things that aren’t entirely within their control. They don’t wait for all the variables to align. They act anyway.
The question isn’t whether you’ll face obstacles. The question is whether you’ll use them as excuses or fuel.
What will you choose this week?
