Breaking the Addiction to Struggle: What if Leadership Could Be Simple?

Recently, I was talking with a client who was navigating significant changes in his leadership team. Just months after selling the company to a larger firm, he realized that some senior team members no longer aligned with the culture he wanted to create. This realization, however, came with an understandable struggle and hesitation.

I asked him what he knew he needed to do first. The answer was clear, and he took that initial step. Surprisingly, this difficult decision brought a wave of unanticipated relief from his team—they had been wanting him to make this change for some time. His team’s response underscored their own alignment with his vision and reinforced what needed to come next.

Is Struggle Necessary in Leadership?

As leaders, we often convince ourselves that we need to have all the answers before we take action. We assume that if we’re not constantly wrestling with decisions and plans, we’re not working hard enough. This mindset can lead to unnecessary stress, burnout, and even compromised decision-making.

Too often, leaders are addicted to the notion that leadership has to be challenging. We may feel that we need to earn our compensation or equity by making things hard, that ease is somehow antithetical to good leadership.

As my client learned in real time, though, some of the best leadership moves come from letting go of that mindset.

What if Leadership Could Be Simple?

When my client took the initial step he knew he needed to, it became obvious what he needed to do next, and then the next steps revealed themselves in turn. The entire process became less daunting and more natural. In fact, he laughed that it could be so simple.

This experience highlighted a powerful truth: sometimes the clearest path emerges only when we allow leadership to be easy.

What if, instead of planning for every potential outcome, we trusted the process to reveal the next step after we take the first one? Could this shift in mindset make us better leaders?

Releasing the Need for Struggle

This isn’t to say that leadership doesn’t come with challenges; of course, it does. But it’s the addiction to struggle—the belief that things must be hard—that hinders us. The more we allow leadership to be straightforward and approach each decision with clarity, the more effectively we can lead our teams and align with our vision.

Embrace Ease and Let the Results Speak

The question is: Are you willing to challenge your addiction to struggle? Are you open to allowing leadership to be simple and trusting that better outcomes may follow?

Can it really be true that you that less struggle can lead to better results?

Whether you resonate with this or you still struggle to let go of the belief that leadership has to be hard, I encourage you to reach out, comment, or share your thoughts. Let’s start a conversation around the possibility that leadership might just be easier than we think.

#founder #exit