Overcoming Adversity

One of the common themes in the biographies of great leaders is their ability to overcome adversity. Many of the leaders we revere have dealt with severe tragedy at some point in their ascendency.

Their high profiles make leaders attractive targets both inside and outside their organizations. When you’re king of the hill, everyone seems to be gunning for you. It may not be fair, but adversity is as random and prevalent in the lives of leaders as good luck.

The path to the top is usually anything but orderly. Throughout their careers, leaders encounter such human problems as failure, demotion, being passed over for promotion, personal tragedies, health problems, divorce, disruption, and vicious office politics. Such obstacles are an integral part of the leadership experience, and you must have the fortitude to deal with them and to learn from them.

Ernest Hemingway said that the world breaks all of us, and we grow stronger in the broken places. That’s certainly true of great leaders. Their ability to rebound from adversity permits them to achieve success and to realize their vision. Resilience is the leadership trait that allows us to deal with adversity.