4 overlooked disciplines essential to well-balanced leadership

Scott Cochrane Oct. 24, 2022

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In order to maximize leadership effectiveness, there are a number of disciplines that must be mastered. Some are obvious, but a few essential disciplines are often well below the radar.

The obvious disciplines include:

• Hard work
• Planning and execution
• Initiative
• Resilience

But what about the "below the radar" disciplines?

Effective leaders know that there are at least 4 often overlooked disciplines that are essential to well-balanced leadership…

1. The discipline of not working

Effective leaders know the value of ending the day, of putting down the phone and the laptop, and of saying "Team, we're done."

The day of the all-nighter is over.

2. The discipline of fun

Many driven leaders find that simple fun does not come easily, and that it has to be placed in their Outlook calendar.

That's OK. Whatever it takes, effective leaders must find a way to keep the discipline of laughter and light-heartedness alive in the organization.

3. The discipline of celebration

The natural instinct of every leader is to look forward at the distance still to be traveled towards the goal.

But don't forget the discipline of looking back at the ground that's already been covered.

Celebrating the progress already achieved builds tremendous momentum for the team.

4. The discipline of "counting your blessings"

Effective leaders make a regular routine of stopping just to notice how fortunate they, and their organization, really are.

These leaders know that one of the best ways to combat the daily pressures inherent in the role of leadership is to take regular stock of the things that are just going well these days.

So keep diligently focused on the disciplines of number crunching, attendance counting and budget analyzing.

But along the way don't forget the importance of these other disciplines too.

Because sometimes the keys to optimizing impact are found well below the radar.

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Scott Cochrane serves on the executive team for the Willow Creek Association, as Vice President, International Ministries. He was born and raised in Canada, where he became connected to the Willow Creek Association, first as a marketing director and later as the ministry’s Chief Operating Officer. Following a five-year stint as Executive Pastor of a large church, Scott returned to Willow Creek Canada in 2009 as Executive Director, and in 2012 relocated to Illinois to take up his current post with the Willow Creek Association. Learn More »

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