Excuses Don’t Grow Leaders

It took a while, but I finally gave up and decided that a nagging Achilles tendon problem was not going away. I had tried to ignore it and continue running, as I would have done when I was younger, and that didn’t work. I tried rest, taking several weeks off from exercise, but that didn’t help either. So I finally asked my doctor if I should try physical therapy. He referred me right away.

Why did it take me so long to seek out the help of someone with expertise in physiology? The excuses I made about my physical condition sound a lot like ones I’ve heard from leaders about their developmental needs:

• “I know what I need to do.” Having been a runner since my teens, I have dealt with a variety of injuries. It’s easy for me to convince myself that I either know the right treatment or can find it online.
• “It will get better” (or “It’s not that bad”). I probably should have contacted my doctor at least a month earlier than I did, but I was convinced that I just needed to give the injury more time to heal. Time flies, especially when we’re ignoring something we don’t want to do.
• “I don’t want to be embarrassed.” The process of getting help required me to admit that something was wrong, to try something new (PT), and to attempt exercises where I might “fail.” Sometimes I’d rather tell myself that everything is fine rather than step into the unknown.
• “I don’t have time.” I eventually invested over 20 hours of my time in PT during a season when I had a lot of other things on my plate. I would have been justified in saying I didn’t have the time, but that excuse wouldn’t have healed my injury.

Leaders who make these excuses usually know that something is missing or isn’t working in their leadership, but they hesitate to ask for help. The truth is that just like PT for an injury, some sort of outside help is often the best way to address a leadership need. The help might come from a colleague, a board member, a friend, or a coach. It’s unlikely be a quick fix. But as I found once I finally went to PT, the help you get is likely to get you back on the right foot.