Consistently do hard things. In a leadership role, consistently doing the hard things is what separates the underperforming leaders from the great leaders. What are the hard things? Ever had somebody crying at your desk, or pleading with you not to fire them, and you let them go anyway? Ever took the heat of anger from a client to protect a team member that made a mistake? Ever made a decision that pissed off some on your team and led to a “clarifying” conversation with your boss? Every leadership job has aspects that are easier and aspects that are harder. Planning the retreat with your team? Easier. Having a face to face conversation about someone’s BO. Harder. Don’t shy away from doing the hard things. In fact, make it your mission to do more hard things. I once heard someone say that everything you want is on the other side of a short, sweaty conversation. Don’t know if that’s true but the sentiment is right on. When you do hard things, things really start to change fast.